Dr. Murali Daran (Rohan, grade 8; Lea, grade 10; Roshan, grade 11) spent an afternoon in at Harker in late March demonstrating how to repair damaged heart valves. In each class, Daran removed a heart valve from a pig heart and installed a synthetic valve. He also taught students how to suture properly … a real life skill!
Tags: Featured StoryWajahat Ali ’94, winner of the Harker Distinguished Alumna award in 2010-11, will sit on a panel for the Commonwealth Club program titled “Paranoid Politics: Islamaphobia, McCarthyism and the Yellow Peril” in Los Gatos tomorrow.
Panel members include Larry Gerston, political science professor at San Jose State University and Channel 11 political analyst, and Congressman Mike Honda. Ali is a playwright, attorney and co-author of “Fear Inc, The Roots of the Islamaphobia Network in America,” and has been interviewed on NPR. The event is Tues., April 3, at the Jewish Community Center auditorium, 14855 Oka Rd. in Los Gatos. The program starts at 7 p.m. and is free to the public. The panel will cover three periods in U.S. history: World War I, the era of McCarthyism and post 9-11, when groups faced persecution in politics and the media. Panel members will share their personal perspectives and reflect on the historic lessons learned. Contact the Commonwealth Club for tickets .415.597.6705.
Tags: Featured StoryAlways the crowd pleaser, Dance Jamz, the middle school’s annual spring dance show, again left audiences wanting more.
Sponsored by the performing arts department and held at the Blackford Theater for a four-show run, the recent show featured 169 dancers (20 more than last year) from all middle school grade levels.
Dance Jamz 2012 encompassed a series of elaborate routines, covered varied dance styles and included more male performers than ever before. There was even an grade 8 boys-only number.
The student dancers performed a total of three shows, first showcasing their talents for grade 5, then entertaining their middle school classmates and finally performing for friends and family.
Middle school dance teacher Gail Palmer, who directed the show, said she was excited about watching Harker’s middle school program grow. With more students taking classes and becoming technically skilled dancers, she hopes her students continue to follow their passion for dance well into high school and beyond.
She noted that Dance Jamz would not be possible without the tireless effort of countless volunteers who ensure it runs smoothly, as well as those who give to Harker’s annual campaign, which funds the program.
From the first energetic piece, “This Place About to Blow,” to the final number, “Fame,” Dance Jamz entertained and delighted audience members with its stunning variety of dance styles, music and costumes.
Tags: Featured Story, Performing ArtsKicks Against Cancer raised nearly $12,000 in January and February for Camp Okizu, a program for families affected by childhood cancer. Money was raised by selling T-shirts and wristbands, as well as through traditional donations.
On Feb. 1, the varsity boys and girls soccer teams played their evening home games wearing the purple Kicks Against Cancer T-shirts. Both teams won their games, with the girls defeating Immaculate Conception Academy 7-0 and the boys winning over Eastside College Prep with a score of 2-1.
Profits from the food sales at Carley’s Café, which nearly ran out of supply to feed the hungry attendants, were also donated to the campaign.
“I think that this event really lets Harker have a direct impact on the lives of pediatric cancer patients and their families,” said Nicole Dalal, grade 12, who organized the event and scored a goal in the girls varsity game. “I would just say that it is incredibly rewarding to know that the game of soccer can bring together our entire community and the Okizu community as well!”
Tags: Featured Story, Outreach, Sports, topoutreachThree Harker middle school social studies teachers recently returned from the 51st annual conference of the California Council for the Social Studies, held in Orange County.
The teachers – Jonathan Brusco, Keith Hirota and Cyrus Merril – were among conference attendees who annually come together as a group, from across the state and beyond, to share insights and ideas, collaborate and inspire one another in efforts to support and sustain a strong history/social studies education program for students.
“The best teachers are always trying to come up with new, innovative ways to engage their students and this convention is a means for them to share their great ideas with other educators,” said history teacher Brusco.
“This was my second year attending the convention and each year I brought back something innovative to implement in my classroom. This time I learned about a new method, called the four worlds, for students to do analysis of social studies topics. I’ve already begun utilizing it in my classroom.”
For more than 50 years, the conference’s mission has remained consistent: to prepare and equip the next generation with the necessary skills, understanding and dispositions to maintain a democratic republic.
This year’s theme was Social Studies to the Core! The theme explored how common core standards can be used as a tool to advance critical thinking through analytical reading and writing exercises with social studies content.
Keynote speakers and scholars included Holocaust survivor, author and Medal of Freedom recipient Gerda Weissmann Klein; “Enrique’s Journey” author Sonia Nazario; English Language Learning expert Margarita Jimenez-Silva; National Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools executive director Ted McConnell; and California Court of Appeals Justice Judith McConnell.
Sessions and workshops made up the bulk of the conference with programming delivered by K-12 teaching colleagues and other educators. An added bonus was an exhibit hall, complete with vendors on hand to hook up conference attendees with the latest instructional materials for use in the social studies classroom.
Social events included an appetizer reception where guests networked with colleagues and friends, an awards dinner and a breakfast with a legislative advocate. Next year’s conference will be held in San Francisco.
Tags: Faculty, Featured StorySenior Xinyi “Cherry” Xie has won a National Gold Medal and a National American Visions Award from the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers for her painting, “Balcony.” Xie was profiled along with four other Harker regional winners in the spring 2012 Harker Quarterly (page 23). Xie has been invited to Carnegie Hall for the awards ceremony at the end of May and her work will be included in the scholastics exhibition in New York City at Parsons the New School of Design. Be sure to read about all five of these award-winning artists and writers in the online Harker Quarterly!
Tags: Featured Story, topfineartsHarker’s student journalism news website, TalonWP.com, has been awarded the prestigious Gold Crown Award for digital news from the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA). According to the CSPA, this year 1,351 printed magazines, newspapers and yearbooks and 182 digital publications bycurrent CSPA members were eligible to enter the competition. Online news media were judged at Columbia University by the Board of Crown Judges in February 2012. Publications were judged on writing/editing, design, content, concept, photography, art and graphics. Only 13 digital news publications received the Gold Crown Award, which has been presented annually since 1983.
This year’s award is only the latest in the past several years of recognition for Harker’s journalism program, which is directed by Chris Daren. TalonWP.com won a Silver Crown in 2011 and a Gold Crown in 2010. The Winged Post won a Silver Crown in 2010 as well. Read more about the Harker journalism program in the current issue of Harker Quarterly.
Tags: Featured Story, topacademics, topliteratureBy Ray Fowler
The Harker Eagles varsity softball team (4-3 overall, 1-1 in league play) won a WBAL Foothill Division game 6-0 against the Alma Heights Christian Eagles (0-4, 0-1) on March 20. There were several highlights during the game played on Harker’s home diamond, and they were all provided by Harker pitcher Alison Rugar, grade 11.
Rugar’s lead-off home run was all the offense Harker would need to defeat Alma Heights. However, Rugar’s performance on the mound would eclipse what turned out to be the game-winning hit. She dominated the visiting team by pitching an 18-strikeout perfect game. Sixty-five percent of Rugar’s pitches were strikes, and she averaged 3.9 pitches per Alma Heights batter. The perfect game was preserved by Rugar cleanly fielding a bunt to throw out an Alma Height batter and Harker shortstop Ashley Del Alto, grade 11, snagging two line shots. Perfect games don’t happen without great catching, and Laura Thacker , grade 10, was solid behind the plate.
When the 21st Alma Heights batter swung and missed on a 1-2 count, there was no fist-pumping or leaping off the mound. Rugar jogged to the Harker dugout and thanked her teammates for their help in Harker’s winning effort. Harker coach Raul Rios awarded the game ball to Rugar after it was signed by the Harker players.
Rugar is currently leading the WBAL Foothill Division in home runs (two), and she has recorded 89 strikeouts for the 2012 season. Her overall GPA is 4.23 and she is a top flute player in the award-winning Harker Orchestra.
Tags: Featured Story, In the News, SportsGirls lacrosse had a close game against Bella Vista yesterday, but lost 15-17. Harker scorers were: Michelle Douglas, grade 11 (six); Wendy Shwe, grade 11 (five), Tiphaine Delepine, grade 11 (two); and Hannah Bollar, grade 9 (two).
Boys tennis lost to state power Menlo yesterday and face another strong team today, Monta Vista. Harker is now 2-3 overall, 2-2 in league.
Tags: Featured Story, In the News, SportsThe Harker Concert Series season came to a close on March 17 with a distinguished string quartet, who ran a master class with orchestra students and then performed to a full house in Nichols Hall auditorium.
The Afiara String Quartet is a Canadian group with impressive résumés: the foursome have degrees from Juilliard, Peabody, New England Conservatory, San Francisco Conservatory and Mannes College among them, and are clearly each highly accomplished musicians. Put them together, and the result is a tightly knit, focused yet relaxed ensemble that interprets music as though it were coming from just one bow.
Beethoven’s “String Quartet in F minor, Op. 95” was the first piece, a work historians place as the last of his “middle” period before he embarked upon the last works he would write, the Late Quartets. In the hands of the Afiara Quartet, this piece was aggressive, passionate and full of extremes, just as one wants Beethoven to be. Violist David Samuel and cellist Adrian Fung had a chance to show off the rich sonorities they coaxed from their instruments in some melodic interplay, and the group bobbed and swayed in perfect physical harmony as they dug into the dramatic piece, executing flawless transitions between tempi and movements.
The quartet’s second piece was a commissioned work by Samuel’s Juilliard buddy Brett Abigaña, a 32-year-old rising star in the classical world. This “String Quartet No. 2” was written in 2010, and seemed perfectly designed to highlight each member of the quartet’s musicianship and virtuosity. The piece appeared built around ostinato figures – accompaniment lines that repeated over and over while others built melodies around them. The first movement, “Psalm,” was hauntingly beautiful, with the dissonant ostinato provided by the two violinists, Valerie Li and Yuri Cho. Two of the movements ended with just a single player fading away into nothingness, leaving the audience spellbound and silent, waiting for the next movements to begin. The piece ended in a flurry of scalar passages, performed absolutely in sync and with clarity and precision that were truly spectacular. This piece was a wonderful mixture of modern atonality and lush melodies, and it was a treat to have such a positive glimpse of classical music’s future.
After an intermission, which included green food in honor of St. Patrick’s Day provided by Harker’s catering team, the group performed a string quartet of Dvořák’s. The Bohemian composer is known for infusing his work with nationalistic folk songs, and it didn’t take much imagination to hear such themes here. Interestingly, it was the first quartet Dvořák composed after returning from a trip to the United States; one wonders how much American influence found its way into this lovely piece. The third distinct genre of the evening, this piece received the same flawless interpretation as the others, showing Afiara’s comfort with various styles.
It is truly a learning experience for students and the community alike to witness such a seamless meeting of the minds amongst members of a small ensemble like the Afiara String Quartet. Kudos to Harker music teachers Chris Florio and Dave Hart, co-directors of the Harker Concert Series, for bringing a professional quartet of such remarkable skill to play in our own house.
Tags: Featured Story, Harker Concert Series, Harker Speaker Series