By Devanshi Mehta, Rohit Mullapalli and Zachary Hoffman, Grade 5 English Students
About a week ago, some friends visited us in the lower school; people started buzzing about them! These critters formed a “hive” out of themselves! It was quite a scene. We could see the dark spot from a football field away. These insects are bees. Ah, such sweet little things!
Bees are in a lot of places. They move from one nest to another. But recently, in the lower school and in several other neighborhoods, there have been a lot migrating bees. We don’t know why, we just know that it is happening.
Migrating from an old nest, a swarm of honey bees decide to rest on one of the lower school tree’s branches. These insects made up a solid two cubic foot blob. There were about 35,000 bees waiting for worker bees to find a new location to build a hive.
How it works is that the queen bee sends a few worker bees to find a new location for their hive. When the workers come back with the news of a new place to settle down, they all travel to that location. But for the time being they were to be our uninvited guests. All of the bees that were not scavenging for a new abode were surrounding a queen bee. The queen bee, being protected from surrounding predators, proudly hovers in the middle of the swarm. Then when the queen bee leaves, her daughter stays behind in the old hive with several worker bees, and she takes a bulk of worker bees with her. Well, they are a busy group!
In January, the lower school campus was visited by about 20 people, who arrived by charter bus, from Community Leadership San Jose (CLSJ), a program offered by the San Jose/Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce that identifies potential community leaders and helps them develop skills to address community issues.
“The class begins with a two day retreat in the fall that is followed with monthly all day classes that focus on different aspects within our community including the criminal justice system, SJ politics, the arts, media, education and the health care system,” said Todd Trekell, who participated in this year’s class and served on the team that specialized in education.
As part of their ongoing training, the group examined Harker and two other schools in an effort to learn about the various elementary school options that San Jose families have available to them. In addition to Harker, they also visited Discovery Charter School and Washington Elementary School. Before visiting, they had gathered information on each school, such as classroom size and student-to-teacher ratios. They then toured the schools to see how they worked, beyond the numbers. “We thought that it would be fascinating to get a real time look into how teachers teach, the various class room sizes, the ethnic makeup of the student body, the overall cost of enrollment to the parents, the food the children eat, the emphases placed on college, the funds allocated by the state to the school, etc.,” Trekell said. “We have all been reading so much about the challenges associated with the education system in California and we wanted to show our classmates firsthand what is going on. ”
The group’s visit to Harker was spurred by the school’s reputation as one of the nation’s top independent school. “We thought that it would be really interesting to understand why it has this reputation and to see if it was really that different from the two other schools that we toured,” said Trekell, who noted that Harker seems to be more well-known nationally than it is within Silicon Valley. “Although we were a class of nearly 30, many of our classmates had never heard of Harker prior to our tour,” he added.
As part of their tour, the CLSJ trainees visited three classrooms to get a sense of what a Harker lower school class session is like. They visited Michelle Anderson and Kelle Sloan’s kindergarten classroom to see a visit by a local fireman, and watched Cindy Proctor teach social studies to her grade 1 students. They also stopped by the gym to see a rehearsal of the grade 5 play, “School Daze.”
Following their tour, they sat down at the lower school library for a Q&A session with several Harker administrators, including Chris Nikoloff, head of school, and Sarah Leonard, primary division head, before returning to city hall to discuss their findings. What learned, Trekell recalled, was that “Not all schools are created equal. We were all very impressed based on what we saw at all three schools. The students were engaged, the teachers seemed to be passionate and as a class we felt that things appeared much better in the classroom then what our perception was based on how the media has portrayed day to day life in most elementary schools. “
Spring sports regular seasons are wrapping up and Harker athletes are scoring right and left!
Upper School Swimming
Harker’s boys and girls swim teams competed in the CCS championships with some fantastic results. While CCS comprises more than 100 schools stretching from San Francisco to King City, Harker had many top 10 finishes. Overall, the girls tied for 16th place and the boys tied for ninth place.
Girls 200-meter medley relay – Katie Siegel, Lucy Cheng, Kimberly Ma, all grade 12, and Amie Chien, grade 11: 11th place
Boys 200-meter medley relay – Kevin Khojasteh, Daryl Neubieser, both grade 12, Aaron Huang and Craig Neubieser, both grade 9: seventh place
Girls 200-meter free relay – Tiffany Wong, Amie Chien, Rachelle Koch, all grade 12, and Manon Aubert, grade 10: 14th place
Girls 400-meter free relay – Katie Siegel, Rachelle Koch, Kimberly Ma, all grade 12, and Manon Aubert, grade 10: 14th place
Boys 400-meter free relay – Kevin Khojasteh, Daryl Neubieser, both grade 12, Aaron Huang and Craig Neubieser, both grade 9: 12th place
Boys 200-meter individual medley – Kevin Khojasteh, grade 12: fourth place
Boys 100-meter breaststroke – Kevin Khojasteh: seventh place
Boys 50-meter freestyle – Daryl Neubieser: fifth place
Boys 100-meter freestyle – Daryl Neubieser: third place
Girls 100-meter backstroke – Katie Siegel: second place
Upper School Track and Field
Track and field competed in the league finals with some impressive results. The junior varsity boys team won the league championship! Individuals qualifying for CCS trials held May 12 were Michael Chen, Isabelle Connell, Sumit Minocha, Tyler Yeats, all grade 11, and Corey Gonzales, grade 9.
Varsity Boys Finals
Team ranking: fourth place (of nine schools)
100 meter: Sumit Minocha, 11.20 seconds, first place
200 meter: Sumit Minocha, 22.67 seconds, first place
3,200 meter: Tyler Yeats, 10:24.16, first place; Corey Gonzales, 10:24.53, second place
Shot put: Michael Chen, 41 ft. 9 in., second place; Matthew Giammona, grade 11, 38 ft. 11 in., fourth place
Discus: Michael Chen, 117 ft. 7.5 in., third place
Varsity Girls Finals
Team ranking: fifth place (of 12 schools)
1,600 meter: Claudia Tischler, grade 10, 5:21.74, third place (Only 0.33 seconds from taking second place)
400 meter: Isabelle Connell, 58.83 seconds, second place
200 meter: Isabelle Connell, 26.01 seconds, first place
3,200 meter: Ragini Bhattacharya, grade 11, 12:12 minutes, fourth place
Junior Varsity Finals
Team ranking: first place (out of nine schools)
400 meter: Vincent Lin, grade 10, 1:00.96, second place
100 meter: Jerry Shen, 13.30, third place
200 meter: Vincent Lin, 27.33, first place; Jerry Shen, 27.37, second place
Shot put: Nishaant Murali, 31 ft. 9 in., first place; Ravi Bhandia, 30 ft. 8.5 in., second place; Rohan Kapatkar, 30 ft 6.5 in., fourth place
Discus: Ravi Bhandia, 99 ft. 6 in., first place, Raghav Sehtia, 89 ft. 2 in., second place; Rohan Kapatkar, 89 ft. 1.5 in., third place; Nishaant Murali, 83 ft. 1 in., fourth place
Lower and Middle School Update
Harker lower and middle schools sports teams have been enjoying a spectacular spring season. Several teams are in the hunt for a league championship.
Middle School Tennis
The middle school tennis team competes in two tennis leagues. On May 8, they defeated perennial powerhouse Menlo, 8-1, to take the WBAL tennis championship! On May 9 they competed for the MTP title v. Fisher. The team entered the championship with a perfect 12-0 season.
Grade 8 Varsity Girls Volleyball
The girls volleyball team played Menlo May 9 for the WBAL title. They entered the game 6-0 and without a single lost set in a match.
Grade 8 Varsity Boys Volleyball
The boys volleyball team is in the hunt for the ADAL title with a record of 9-0. They have two matches remaining to reach their goal.
Grade 5 Junior Varsity B1 Girls Volleyball
This grade 5 volleyball team competed against Pinewood on May 10 for the WBAL title. Coming into the match, the team had a undefeated 5-0 record without a single lost set.
As spring sports wind up, the laurals are being awarded! Six out of Harker’s 10 volleyball teams have won their league titles and varsity A tennis, Grades 6-8, is peaking and heads to playoffs. Read coach Theresa (Smitty) Smith’s report:
Grade 8 varsity A girls volleyball has not lost a match in the last two years, went 7-0 this season, good enough for WBAL champions.
Grade 7 varsity B girls volleyball finished 6-1, good enough for WBAL tri-champions.
Grade 6 junior varsity B6 girls volleyball finished 6-2, good enough for WBAL tri-champions.
Grade 5 junior varsity B1 girls volleyball finished 5-1, good enough for WBAL co-champions.
Boys
Grade 8 varsity A boys volleyball finished 10-1, good enough for ADAL champions.
Grade 7 varsity B boys volleyball finished 6-2, good enough for ADAL champions.
Tennis:
Varsity A tennis, grades 6-8, finished the WBAL season at 8-0, and won the WBAL playoff championship v. Menlo, 6-3. They are currently 8-0 in the MTP and play in the semifinals next Monday and the finals next Wednesday. They currently hold an overall record of 16-0!
The nominations for the 2012 Stage Top Honor Awards were announced Monday, and the cast and staff of the Conservatory’s spring musical, “The Drowsy Chaperone,” received 11 nominations. Fifteen schools participated, and Harker received the fifth most nominations.
The Top Honor Awards recognizes outstanding work by high school musical theater programs. Four judges, each one a theater professional, attend performances at each of the participating schools and complete a lengthy and detailed evaluation, which then is passed along to each show’s director. Harker’s director, Laura Lang-Ree, received the adjudications last week and called the cast together after school to share the positive and constructive feedback. “Students receive over 75 pages of notes from outside professionals,” Lang-Ree said, offering feedback on everything from the ushers to each cast member and every technical element of the show.
Nominees for best actor/actress and best show are invited to perform at the awards ceremony, which this year will be on June 4 at the California Theater in downtown San Jose. The winners of the best actor/actress category will win a scholarship to New York University’s Tisch School for the Arts, if they are accepted as students there.
While excited by the nominations, Lang-Ree is firm that, “We produce musicals so that we can learn from and enjoy the process – we are not in it to win a prize. That’s our philosophical stand, as we are always going to do our best, grow, stretch, fail, succeed and try again, regardless of whether we choose to be a part of an adjudication or competition.” Lang-Ree and musical director Catherine Snider were gratified by the best show and best chorus nominations, in particular, as those categories most clearly represent the goals of the Conservatory – a tight, well-rehearsed acting, dancing and singing ensemble in which each character is well-developed, everyone’s energy is equally high, and the chorus is an integral part of the play as a whole. “Nominated, win or not, we strive to make the process of performing as rich and valuable as possible, and therein lies the joy of rehearsal, process and performance,” Lang-Ree said.
“The Drowsy Chaperone” received the following nominations: overall production; chorus; leading actress (Noel Witcosky, grade 12); leading actor (Tristan Killeen, grade 12); supporting actor (Govinda Dasu, grade 12); supporting actress (Lauren Pinzás, grade 12); featured actress (Cristina Jerney, grade 11); direction (Lang-Ree); musical direction (Snider); choreography (Katie O’Bryon); and sound design (Brian Larsen).
Kindergarten performers took a packed house back to the 1950s with this year’s annual show, titled “At the Hop” and directed by lower school performing arts teacher Kellie Binney. Each member of the production assumed the identity of a ’50s archetype or celebrity for the show, portraying icons such as Elvis Presley (Ashwin Kuppahally), Ella Fitzgerald (Emi Fujimura) and Chuck Berry (Enzo Lucketti).
The students performed various hits from the ’50s on the Bucknall stage, including “Splish Splash” by Bobby Darin, “Donna” by Ritchie Valens, Presley’s “Hound Dog” and the show’s namesake, “At the Hop” by Danny and the Juniors. The teachers of each kindergarten class were also part of the show, introducing their respective classes with entertaining skits and even joining in on several numbers. Naturally, performers were decked out in a potpourri of period-appropriate attire, including leather jackets, jeans and poodle skirts, and the audience delighted in the students’ fun and inspired renditions of classic tunes, all done to energetic choreography by dance teacher Gail Palmer.
The show included a well-designed set that mimicked an authentic ’50s diner, courtesy of scenic artist Whitney Pintello, with props by the students of Danny Dunn’s middle school technical theater class. Grade 5 students Nikhil Dharmaraj and Ayush Pancholy constructed a jukebox that was a major feature of the scenery. Dunn, who also acted as technical director and designer, again brought along the students of her grade 5 technical theater class to act as the stage crew.
Faculty members put forth a great effort in late April, but succumbed to eighth graders on the volleyball court 48-42. This annual event drew cheering crowds as first the grade 8 girls, then grade 8 boys took the court against a hodgepodge of faculty and staff and crushed all hope of a faculty free dress day.
“Faculty got off to a slow start,” said Kyle Cavallaro, school photographer. “We caught up as we warmed up and made the grade 8 boys work, but they were better than I thought they would be!”
“With great plays and spectacular saves, it was a game to remember!” said Lana Morrison, middle school dean of students. On May 24 all students will have free dress while, alas, faculty and staff will wear the middle school uniform.
Indica Sur, grade 11, has earned one of the 32 spots provided by the 2012 JET memorial Invitation Program for American High School Students. The grants bring winners to Japan for more than two weeks as a group to meet Japanese students, experience Japanese culture and study the language.
The grant program was created in 2011 in memory of two U.S. teachers of English who lost their lives in the earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011; Taylor Anderson was working in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture and Montgomery Dickson in Rikuzen-Takata, Iwate Prefecture when the tsunami hit.
The program is open to juniors and seniors currently learning Japanese and seeks to honor the principles Anderson and Dickson valued.
The long screening process includes taking a Japanese National Exam, writing an essay and having an interview conducted in Japanese, said Keiko Irino, upper school Japanese teacher. “The Japan Foundation will pay for all her travel expenses, and she will be doing many activities such as language/culture study, fieldtrips, high school visits and homestay,” Irino added.
The trip is an educational visit throughout Japan, including Miyagi or Iwate, lasting 19 days, tentatively, and has varied goals: to encourage American high school students to study Japanese; encourage youth exchanges such as the JET program as an option for students; and create a network of students for the future.
More than 400 attendees arrived to experience the 2012 Harker Research Symposium on April 28, which featured some of the most fascinating speakers and presentations in the symposium’s six-year history.
Legendary entrepreneur Vinod Khosla was this year’s morning keynote speaker. “We were very fortunate that someone of Mr. Khosla’s stature would take time from a busy schedule and from a beautiful Saturday to come and share his thoughts with our students,” said science department chair and symposium coordinator Anita Chetty. “I think that what he had to say certainly got us all thinking about the present as well as the future.”
Giving a joint presentation were John West and Atul Butte. West, a Harker parent and CEO of genome analysis company Personalis, was joined by Butte via video conference from Boston. West and Butte, chief of the division of systems medicine and associate professor of pediatrics, medicine and by courtesy, computer science at Stanford University, discussed the collaborative project between a team of Stanford scientists led by Butte and West’s former company, Illumina, to sequence the West family’s DNA. This in turn led to an effort to develop software that would make genome sequencing accessible to more people.
This year’s alumni presentation was given by Jacob Bongers ’07, son of Harker art department chair Jaap Bongers and a 2011 graduate from the University of Southern California. Bongers discussed his passion for archaeology and his related field work and research, which led him to being published in the Journal of Archaeological Science while still an undergraduate. “Archaeology has been a passion of mine since I was a kid and since I have a tremendous amount of experience performing field work and conducting research within the scope of archaeology, I felt like I had a lot offer to anyone interested in learning about this fascinating field of study,” Bongers said. “I also wanted to talk about a field of study that, at Harker, may not get as much press as engineering, biology or medical research.”
Attendance remained high for the duration of the event, and the high caliber of this year’s student presentations kept visitors highly interested. “Every classroom was standing-room only,” Chetty said.
One presenter at this year’s symposium, Alex Najibi, grade 12, said attending last year’s symposium provided the spark for his own interest in research. “I’ve always been interested in science and research, but when I went to the symposium last year, not as a presenter, I was really amazed by how many projects the other students were doing,” he said.
Although he was not sure at first that many people would find his presentation on particle physics engaging or accessible enough, he quickly discovered that his audience found the topic quite compelling. “Particle physics isn’t really the most accessible topic, but I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly nearly everyone understood what I was discussing,” he said.
Because of the expected high attendance, the symposium this year was arranged to create better foot traffic, and a tent was set up between Nichols Hall and Dobbins Hall to display the many impressive poster presentations by upper school students. The Dobbins Hall gallery was set aside for middle school student poster presentations.
Exhibitors occupied the atrium at Nichols Hall, demonstrating many scientific and technological advancements and offering a peek into the kinds of careers that are open to students interested in scientific research. This year’s exhibitors were Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, The Triple Helix, East Bay Cardiovascular and Thoracic Associates, Lumoback, Symmetricom, Twincreeks Technologies, Nvidia, Autodesk, Ericsson, Hunter Laboratories and Rector Porsche Audi.
“The industry piece is very important because it allows our students to see the connection between research and career, research and the economy of our valley,” Chetty said. “The exhibitors were so excited about their companies and their products and their research and development. That enthusiasm was really infectious.”
In addition to the student clubs such as WiSTEM (Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and the chemistry club, who were instrumental organizing this year’s event, Chetty was also thankful for the various departments that came together to make sure the Harker Research Symposium had another successful year.
“The symposium recognizes what our teachers and our students do throughout the year, and it’s a celebration of that work,” she said. “But the actual event also brings together the other departments that make our school run: facilities, technology, Office of Communication, the kitchen, the security, all of those departments come together to run this huge event.”
Harker senior Kathryn (Katie) Siegel was named a 2012 Presidential Scholar this week. Siegel has excelled both academically and in her chosen activities at Harker.
“We are all proud of Katie’s accomplishments and recognition,” said Chris Nikoloff, head of school. “Her achievements across so many domains truly reflect the spirit of the Harker mission. Congratulations.”
Each year the U.S. Department of Education names one male and one female Scholar from each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. In addition, two students are selected from families living abroad, 15 students are chosen at large and 20 are chosen who specialize in visual and performing arts.
Siegel named Susan King, upper school computer science teacher, as her most influential Harker teacher, and King can accompany Siegel to Washington, D.C., where Siegel will receive her Presidential Scholar medallion and King will be honored with a Teacher Recognition Award from the U.S. Department of Education.
“Katie Siegel is a delightful, energetic, enthusiastic student,” said King. “Without a hint of conceit or meekness, she is able to clearly communicate a problem, precipitate a discussion, consider options, and thank participants for their suggestions.
“I do know that in her collegiate career, there will be professors who will be grateful and delighted that she crossed their thresholds. Katie’s quintessence – her bountiful energy, tenacity, curiosity, intelligence and temperament – makes her a natural born scientist and scholar.”
Siegel is Harker’s fourth Presidential Scholar, and its first female so honored. In 2006, Samantha Fang ’06, was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts, Senan Ebrahim ’08 was named a Presidential Scholar in 2008 and Daniel J. Kim ’09 a Presidential Scholar in 2009.
About 3,000 academic candidates are eligible based on evaluation of their College Board SAT or ACT assessment scores. Students interested in joining the arts portion of the Presidential Scholar program must register for youngARTS, a program by the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts, which then nominates students as Presidential Scholars.