Harker’s InvenTeam visited the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in June for this year’s EurekaFest, an annual event held by Lemelson-MIT for young inventors. New Harker graduates Prag Batra, Sachin Jain and Arihant Jain, along with grade 12 students Shantanu Joshi, Wilbur Yang and Ramakrishnan Menon and grade 11 student Nikhil Dilip, were at the event to showcase the invention that won them funding in this year’s InvenTeam contest. Their project, an aquatic thermoelectric generator that can produce solar energy without the need for expensive panels, won them a $9,110 grant in the fall of last year to build a prototype.
During their time at the event, the team toured MIT’s wind tunnels and fusion lab, and participated in a 20-minute design challenge in which they were randomly placed into teams which were then instructed to build a free-standing structure made with balloons. They also attended presentations that showed them how to market their inventions, and saw presentations by the collegiate and industrial winners of the InvenTeam competition.
Like many teenagers, Michelle Deng ’12 grappled over questions of individuality and fitting in. However, in addition to those quite typical teen concerns, she also worked out equally pressing and broader issues of cultural identity.
Deng recently addressed her uplifting journey towards affirming her identity as an Asian-American youth in last spring’s “Growing Up Asian in America” high school-aged writing contest. Deng stood out from hundreds of other contestants and won second place for her powerfully written essay, “International Orange.”
Growing Up Asian in America is a competitive art and essay program sponsored by the Asian Pacific Fund, the largest celebration of Asian heritage in America. The Fund has operated the program since 1995. Now, with the Golden Gate Bridge celebrating its 75th anniversary, the organization asked this year’s contestants to reflect upon the “bridges” in their own lives.
In her entry, Deng artfully compared her experience at coming to terms with being a Chinese American to architect Irving Morrow’s selection of paint color during the historic construction of the Golden Gate Bridge.
In her work, Deng noted that as a second-generation Chinese girl, she found the Silicon Valley a friendly place to grow up. “I often joke with visitors that you don’t even have to go to Chinatown to run into Chinese supermarkets, dim sum places and boba milk tea cafes within five minutes of one another,” Deng wrote in her essay, noting that she, therefore, never really felt defined by her ethnicity.
That all changed, however, when she traveled to China with her mother, and felt as “out of the water as a fish could be.” She recalled feeling more American than Chinese.
Throughout her writing, the choosing of a paint color for the Golden Gate Bridge served as a metaphor for her slowly evolving sense of identity. Personal narrative was expertly juxtaposed and intertwined with snapshots of how, back in 1933, Morrow selected and fought for a color choice that some had a hard time accepting at first.
Deng ended her essay with a scene of her symbolically standing before the Golden Gate Bridge, noting that strangely enough, despite having grown up less than an hour away, she’d never actually stepped onto the bridge before. She vividly described feeling like a tourist standing on the bridge for the first time.
Yet, somehow, she continued, the connection was far deeper. “This was my home. Wherever I was, I would take a part of this place with me, and I would be American, Asian, Californian, human, or what have you, and I would soar,” she wrote in her essay’s final line.
“We asked students to explore bridges that have been meaningful to them – whether real, physical bridges, or symbolic bridges that connect important parts of their lives, or help them cross through challenging personal journeys,” explained the contest sponsor on its website.
The Asian Pacific Fund reported being inundated with entries from students who have struggled with their identities, whether they have just arrived from Asia and are negotiating what it means to be American and Asian, or whether they are multiracial children trying to reconcile each side of their heritage.
“They have built bridges by learning foreign languages, cooking new cuisines, mending broken relationships, overcoming disability, watching YouTube, and experimenting with musical instruments. Their journeys are as diverse as their cultures, but many have arrived atsimilar destinations: a place where they don’t need to choose one side over the other, but are at peace standing right where they are – in the middle,” noted the fund.
Every year, around 1,400 Bay Area students in K-12 compete in the program by submitting artwork, essays and poems on a specific theme for some $27,000 in prizes. Winners receive savings bond awards worth $1,000-$2,000, and are honored at an awards ceremony at the Asian Art Museum. Special exhibits displaying the winning artwork and essays go on tour during Asian Pacific Heritage Month, and are hosted throughout the year by more than 50 public libraries all over the Bay Area. All winning entries are also archived online at the Asian Pacific Fund website.
New upper school families and current ambassador families enjoyed a special welcome barbecue at the upper school campus on June 28. In addition to meeting, greeting and dining, the guests received a tour of the campus’ facilities, participated in a brief Q&A session and were given a tour of the Harker website.
Former Harker gridiron and swimming stalwart Cole Davis ’10, along with several of his Stanford University swim teammates, competed in the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials, held June 25 – July 2 in Omaha, Neb.
Although Davis did not place on the team, the experience was one he will never forget. “Olympic trials were really fun,” said Davis. “I was there for about ten days and only raced for 23 seconds, so most of the time I was a spectator, but it was cool to see such an important meet from a behind the scenes perspective. I was seated 106th going in and only 16 advance. I had a decent race, not my best, but I wasn’t expecting to make it to semi-finals, so it wasn’t a crushing disappointment.” The event had a serious wow factor: along with substantial security by U.S. Army troops, “I’ve never swam in a pool with a jumbotron above my head, cameras on the bottom, and flame throwers on the side,” said Davis.
Prior to heading off to Omaha to try out for the U.S. Olympic team, Davis and his teammates had the unique opportunity to train with former Olympic coach Dr. Genadijus Sokolovas at Harker’s Singh Aquatic Center.
In addition to working with Davis and his teammates over the course of a weekend, Sokolovas offered high-level training tips to Harker’s swimming and water polo coaches. A former professional marathon swimmer, Sokolovas has tested, evaluated and advised many U.S. swimming national and Olympic team athletes and coaches.
The private training sessions for the Stanford swimming teammates was made possible by Davis’ parents, John and Christine Davis, who, back in the fall of 2007, generously donated the funds to build the upper school’s athletic field. Christine Davis said that Cole and his friends had been staying with them since the end of school, leading to “some priceless dinner conversation.”
Following the conclusion of the trials, USA Swimming named the complete roster for the 2012 U.S. Olympic swim team. While female swimmers often peak in their teens, men usually peak in their mid- to upper-20s. So for Davis and his Stanford swimming teammates, all 20 years old, simply qualifying to compete at such a high level is an amazing feat.
Upper school Latin students attended the California Junior Classical League Convention in late March and took top spots in many of the convention’s events.
In the high school level 1 events, Serena Wang, grade 9, took first place in mottoes, abbreviations and quotes, second in reading comprehension and third in grammar. Tyler Yeats, grade 11, placed first in both reading comprehension and vocabulary.
At level 2 of the high school competitions, Annirudh Ankola, grade 9, placed second for boys costume, and William Bloomquist, also grade 9, finished second and third respectively in vocabulary and sight Latin reading. Richard Gu, grade 9, had first place finishes in both reading comprehension and vocabulary, and Mary Liu, grade 10, placed second in English oratory.
Harker had seven high placements at high school level 3, all from grade 9 students, with Maya Nandakumar taking second in history and third mythology, Aadyot Bhatnagar placing second in vocabulary and earning an honorable mention in reading comprehension, Sahana Rangarajan receiving an honorable mention in derivatives and Sophia Shatas taking third in dramatic interpretation.
The high school advanced level was Harker’s most successful category, with 12 students earning high placements. Sarika Bajaj, grade 10, took first in computer photography, second in multimedia and received an honorable mention in daily life. Nik Datuashvili, grade 11, had dual first-place finishes in ancient geography and derivatives. Sophomore Kevin Duraiswamy finished first in mottoes, abbreviations and quotes, second in grammar, third in reading comprehension and received in an honorable mention in sight Latin reading. Richard Fan, grade 11, placed second in ancient geography and received an honorable mention in history. Fellow junior Pranav Sharma placed third in vocabulary and received an honorable mention in mottoes, abbreviations and quotes. Another junior, Shannon Su, tied for third in sight Latin reading and received honorable mentions in both derivatives and vocabulary. Ashvin Swaminathan, grade 11, placed high in four events, earning first place in pentathlon, second place in both vocabulary and Latin oratory and third in grammar. Other students who placed well were grade 10’s Helena Huang, who took third in mythology, Zina Jawadi, also grade 10, taking second in sight Latin reading, recent graduate Jessica Lin winning first place in daily life, sophomore Brian Tuan earning an honorable mention in reading comprehension and Eric Zhang, grade 11, finishing third in ancient geography.
Harker Certamen (quiz bowl) competitors also performed well, with the team of Nik Datuashvili, Kevin Duraiswamy, Richard Fan and Jessica Lin taking second place in the high school advanced category. Serena Wang’s open certamen team took second in the high school level 1 open certamen contest, and Pranav Sharma’s high school advanced open certamen team finished second.
Harker was the number one high school overall in the medium-sized high schools category.
Harker’s newest families had an opportunity to get their questions answered at the kindergarten Answer Quest, the school’s annual orientation for parents of incoming students.
The informal event, held during the evening of April 17, began with check-in and light refreshments, giving parents the opportunity to get to know one another. Then, as the quest for answers to parental questions officially began, participants were asked to travel from table to table in the gym at the Bucknall campus to chat with Harker staff. Following that came an administrative presentation and additional chance for questions and answers.
Sponsored by the Harker admission team for all grade levels, Answer Quest is an especially important first step for parents of kindergartners who are new to the Harker community and may not have other children already attending the school.
Knowing that answers to all the questions in the Answer Quest booklet handed out during the program would be made available in a special section of the parent portal on Harker’s website the day after the event, parents were relieved of any note-taking burden and instead were able to simply relax and enjoy the evening.
With the goal of working as a team in mutual commitment to each student’s success, Answer Quest enables newcomers to learn about Harker’s educational philosophy, gain an overview about curriculum and procedures and get a sense of the school’s dynamic, rich and exciting environment.
This past April, Harker hosted the first Green Teen Summit, featuring appearances by 350.org founder Bill McKibben and the co-founder of BioTour, Ethan Burke. Harker journalism students put together this video report of the event!
Indianapolis – June 18, 2012 – Harker’s middle school speech and debate team capped another strong season last Friday, earning one of only three all-around school of excellence awards at the National Junior Forensic League (NJFL) National Championships in Indianapolis, Ind. This honor recognizes the combined accomplishment of the 26 speakers and debaters from Harker who competed. While this is the first all-around award Harker has earned, the team extended their streak of being recognized as one of the five recipients of the school of excellence in debate award to three consecutive years.
Aditya Dhar, grade 7, improved another of the team’s streaks to three straight years with at least one student earning an individual national championship. Debating topics ranging from abolishing the Electoral College to passing the DREAM Act, Dhar dominated competition in congressional debate. He was joined in the final round of congress by teammate Alexander Lam, grade 7, who earned second place, as well as teammates Sophia Luo, grade 8, and Misha Tseitlin, grade 7.
Harker also enjoyed its best performance to date at nationals in policy debate by advancing all three teams it entered. The team of Steven Cao, grade 7, and Panny Shan, grade 8, advanced to semifinals (top four) before falling to the eventual champions from the Kinkaid School in Texas. Lisa Liu and Sophia Luo, both grade 8, compiled an undefeated record in preliminary competition and proceeded to quarterfinals (top eight) before falling. Joining these others was the team of Shannon Hong, grade 8, and Rahul Shukla, grade 7, who reached octafinals (top 16). This year’s policy topic focused on whether the United States should significantly increase exploration of space.
Numerous public forum debate teams advanced to elimination competition as well. The team of Sorjo Banerjee and Suraj Jagadeesh, both grade 8, advanced to quarterfinals (top eight) while the team of Kevin Chen, grade 8, and Joyce Huang, grade 7, reached octafinals (top 16). In addition to their successes in congress, Dhar and Lam joined forces to reach octafinals (top 16) in public forum. Debaters in this event discussed whether stand your ground laws are a legitimate expansion of self-defense.
The all-around school of excellence award was made possible by a breakthrough for Harker’s forensics program, as the school entered a significant number of students in the speech events for the first time. Though the middle school speech program is new, that did not stop several students from excelling at the tournament. Complementing her award in policy debate, Lisa Liu may have been the hardest working student at the tournament, advancing to semifinals (top 14) in poetry reading and quarterfinals (top 24) in dramatic interpretation of literature. Quarterfinalists in speech (top 24) included Sana Aladin, grade 7, in storytelling; Carissa Chen, grade 7, in original oratory; and Divya Rajasekharan, grade 7, in dramatic interpretation of literature.
Harker’s growing accomplishments at NJFL Nationals have occurred under the leadership of Karina Momary, the director of middle school forensics. This year the school also welcomed new assistant coach Marjorie Hazeltine, who has ably coached the fledgling group of speech competitors. The returning middle school students look forward to continuing their tradition of success next season in preparation for the 2013 NJFL Nationals in Birmingham, Ala.
At first glance, the group seated in a classroom in the upper school’s Shah Hall looked like typical summer school students. They sat attentively, their desks arranged in a semi-circle around their instructor, casually dressed in blue jeans, T-shirts and sneakers, backpacks lying by their feet on the floor.
Yet on second look, it became apparent that they were from diverse Asian and European countries, and spoke with heavy accents. Meanwhile, on a table at the back of the classroom, stacks of brochures from a range of boarding and other schools were prominently on display.
It was all part of Harker’s well-established English Language Institute (ELI) program, which runs annually every summer and this year kicked off with a welcome reception for ELI participants and their guardians on June 24.
The globally recognized program attracts international students ages 6-16 who are bound for either American boarding schools, universities or internationally-based primarily English speaking schools. They come to ELI to prepare for and increase their chances of admission to their next educational institution.
“ELI is a smart thing, and a good idea. It’s a unique opportunity,” said Joe Rosenthal, Harker’s executive director of advancement, who recently addressed an advanced study group of about 20 middle school-aged students on the topic of “Study in the USA.” Down the line, other guest speakers will include presentations from two visiting boarding school directors.
Addressing the issue of societal norms, Rosenthal noted that different cultures have different etiquette. For example, in the U.S. it’s considered good manners to look a person in the eye, whereas in other countries that might be viewed as offensive. “Here in the States, your number one tool is your smile … just remember it’s okay to make mistakes …” advised Rosenthal, noting that admissions directors from some of the finest boarding schools worldwide come to Harker to personally meet with the ELI students.
Wrapping up his lecture, Rosenthal gave some wise words of advice. “In our culture we place great emphasis on finding meaningful work and helping to make the world a better place.” He then gave an example of a former ELI participant and Harker student, designer Alexander Wang (MS ’98), now a major figure in the fashion world. After spending time in ELI programs during his formative elementary years, Wang quickly worked his way into regular Harker school classes.
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.
For the younger ELI students, instruction takes place at Harker’s lower school campus. At the conclusion of formal instruction each day, learning for these students continues with enrichment programs, such as swimming and playing games. Often they are able to join in activities with children attending the regular on-site summer camp, allowing them to have fun while improving language skills. They also enjoy outings to such kid-friendly locations as “Pump it Up!”
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 Science, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Santa Cruz Natural Bridges State Park and the Tech Museum.
ELI participants travel here with a parent or guardian and often choose to stay next door in the Oakwood Apartments, with which Harker has a special arrangement. Some opt to live with friends and relatives in the area instead. An initial coffee and tea reception was held at the Oakwood Apartments for all the adults to enjoy and get to know one another.
According to Anthony Wood, ELI director, there are two big changes to the program this summer. One is the addition of advanced class seminar instructor Ted Ufijusa. “He brings a wealth of teaching experience and will focus on enhancing English skills in this integral component of our program,” said Wood.
The other is a notable increase in enrollment at the beginner level with ELI students over at the lower school campus. In fact, session three will have 30+ students, which is a first, utilizing three teachers.
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), school and family vocabulary. Students with more developed skills work on reading and writing, as well as new vocabulary words and verb tenses.
“Much of the teaching is geared to the ELI field trips and afternoon camp activities. For example, a trip to the Monterey Nay Aquarium involves a marine animal unit. Learning is also hands-on using toys and art projects to help the children understand concepts in English. Instruction is also highly individualized so that the students can progress as much as possible,” explained Glovka.
Often times these children are so busy having fun, the learning doesn’t even feel like hard work. “I like reading and playing with my friends,” enthused one youngster, ELI first-time student, 8-year-old Lily Yang, who came to the program knowing little English.
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. They will also have likely gained new friendships and increased confidence in their ability to travel, speak and learn in the States.
Tanya Schmidt ’08 has gathered a couple more kudos as she departs Santa Clara University for grad school. She received a special grant to give her full matching funds under unusual circumstances at her final athletic banquet and was awarded the Saint Clare Medal, “given to the female graduate judged outstanding in academic performance, personal character, school activities and constrictive contribution to the University by the faculty and the provost” at the SCU graduation on Saturday! Read all about it!