Harker finished first in the California Economics Challenge and third in the National Economics Challenge, held in late May in New York City. The team, consisting of rising seniors Ramya Rangan, Michelle Deng, Nikhil Narayen and Max Isenberg, was selected to go to New York after the team consisting of Rangan, Deng, rising senior Albert Wu and recent graduate Jason Young qualified for the national competition in the national semifinal round via a paper test administered at Harker.
The California Economics Challenge, held in early spring and sponsored by 3M, CCEE and the National Economics Challenge, is geared to recognize what the high school seniors learned in their twelfth-grade economics course. Teacher Peter Itokazu led the winning student teams. The contest attracts 5,000 students from 32 states.
Prior to the national semifinal round, Harker had four teams qualify in the top six statewide. Because Harker could only send one team to the state competition, Rangan, Wu, Young and recent graduate Karthik Dhore represented the school at the state level and won the state championship to advance to the national semifinals.
The San Jose Mercury News announced their boys tennis and volleyball all-stars today and Harker is well represented. Karthik Dhore, just graduated, was named to the First Team All Mercury News Boys Tennis.
“This award is a particular favorite of the production team,” said Laura Lang Ree, performing arts chair and director of “Pippin.” “We are thrilled to receive it for the third time. This was the one award that I really wanted as it highlights the core philosophy of the musical theater department: no stars. The ensemble is the storyteller of a musical and the most important aspect of any show. I was happy!”
Top Honors judges adjudicate about 20 participating Bay Area high schools each year, providing feedback on their productions. Judges then nominate the top schools in a variety of categories and host a Tony-style evening of performances and awards. Harker was nominated for nine awards, including Best Show and Best Leading Actor (John Ammatuna and Daniel Cho, both now graduated, were nominated for Best Leading Actor) giving the cast the privilege of performing live at the awards.
The cast also was one of only five schools to perform at the awards as a nominee for Best Show, performing an awesome rendition of “Magic to Do” which was a huge crowd pleaser, according to Lang Ree. Ammatuna, as a nominee for Best Leading Actor, also performed live (nominee Cho was out of the country).
Judges noted, “This production’s standout star is the ensemble. The choral and background vocals in the songs were strong. As actors, the entire ensemble were constantly acting and reacting to the scene around them in a way that didn’t distract the audience but enhanced the scene enormously. Fantastic work from the entire ensemble.”
The comments went on: “Outstanding energy and animation … Excellent ability to express character and move story forward through dance. Excellent rendition of ‘Morning Glow’ and ‘Finale’ … The ensemble in this show had an incredible overall commitment to the pacing and energy of the show, which was especially evident in the opening number … The cast was a pleasure to watch from start to finish … Loved the energy, the concept, and the commitment that the cast brought to the show.”
Congrats to the entire Harker production team of Catherine Snider, musical director; Brian Larsen, sound engineer/production manager; and Paul Vallerga, scenic designer/technical director, as well as Lang-Ree and the whole student crew and cast!
Musicians from all three campuses gathered in early April to hold the most comprehensive concert yet. The Lower School String Ensemble opened with “Canon in D,” by Pachelbel, and “Joust” by Richard Meyer. The Lower School Orchestra then performed two numbers including Beethoven’s “Symphony No. 5 – Finale,” before being joined by the Grade 6 Orchestra for “Symphony No. 6 – ‘Pastoral,’” by Beethoven. “It was a delight to see students performing together on one stage,” said Chris Florio, upper school instrumental teacher, “as the groups usually practice separately.” The Grade 6 Orchestra then performed a trio of pieces including “Farandole” from “L’Arlesienne Suite No. 2,” by Georges Bizet.
The Grade 7-8 Orchestra rounded out the first half of the show with four pieces including “Variations on a Korean Folk Song, Var. I, II and III,” by John Barnes Chance. The orchestra opened its set with a lush and moving rendition of “Symphony No. 5” by Tchaikovsky. “From the strings, to the winds and to the brass, this piece displayed the vast range of talents in this orchestra,” said Florio.
Following intermission, The Harker School Orchestra, the upper school group, took the stage. This group was capping off a busy day, having been awarded their first Unanimous Superior at the CMEA festival at Wilcox High School that morning. The group opened with Brahms’ “Academic Festival Overture,” and “Suite No. 1” from the opera “Carmen” by Bizet. Anthony Fandrianto, grade 12, was guest conductor for “El Capitan,” by John Phillips Sousa, and the show wrapped up with “Elsa’s Procession” from Wagner’s opera “Lohengrin.”
By Gail Palmer
In late May 250 grade 1-5 students and 19 faculty and staff danced in the 10th annual Bucknall dance concert, “Music That Moves Us Too!” To celebrate, the theme this year was the same as the one used for the first show. The theme illustrates that music is a powerful medium that can move people both physically and emotionally.
Rather than selecting the music myself, I asked the faculty and staff to suggest a song that moves them and to describe why it moves them. The faculty and staff were videotaped telling the anecdotes, stories and memories about the songs and they were used as introductions to the dance routines. The introductions were inspirational, sentimental, funny, nostalgic and poignant. The variety of song suggestions illustrates that music has universal appeal, with lyrics that speak to us, voices that lift our spirits and rhythmic arrangements that resonate in our bodies.
Kathy Clark, librarian, suggested the song that was used for the opening number, “I’ve Got The Music In Me,” by the Kiki Dee Band. This song is special because 10 years ago it was the song used for the finale of the first dance concert, which led to a tradition that continues to this day, “Music at Lunch.”
To decide the finale for the show, I play three different songs for the Bucknall student body during lunches and students vote for the song they like the best. This year, appropriately, the chosen song was “Sing A Song … It Will Make You Dance,” by Earth, Wind & Fire.
The costumes were fit for a runway with the highlight being the “Monster in the Mirror” costumes by Marilyn Watts. Sesame Street came to life on stage. The faculty and staff were a highlight bringing disco back in style, dancing to “Night Fever” and ’80s Madonna with a routine to “Holiday.” The students’ hard work, energy and enthusiasm brightened the stage and moved the audience to want to dance, too!
The middle school grade 7 and 8 orchestras and Vivace choir performed impressively this spring, each earning awards at performing arts festivals. The orchestras performed at the California Music Educators Association festival in May and, for the first time, both of the orchestras were awarded Unanimous Superior ratings to recognize their skill and dedication their crafts. This double award has come after a year dedicated to improving all of the students’ individual abilities and their work as a group.
Vivace traveled to a middle and high school choir festival in Anaheim in April. The group performed three pieces in front of an audience and a panel of judges. Their performance of classical, jazz and traditional/spiritual pieces earned them high praise from the judges. Dave Hart, middle school music teacher, said, “I was blown away by their musicianship and ability to blend.” Hart wasn’t the only one the group impressed; the judges recognized them for their strong team effort, awarding them a gold medal and one of the highest middle school choir scores. After the performances, the groups were invited to celebrate their hard work at Disneyland.
Let’s congratulate the groups on a fantastic end to a year that, according to Hart, was dedicated to “learning music and having a great time.”
This past week Harker had some outstanding Central Coast Section (CCS) performances. “CCS comprises over 100 schools and to compete and especially make finals puts these athletes in an elite category,” said Dan Molin, athletic director.
Swimming
Harker girls swimming placed seventh at CCS this past weekend, May 21-22, having a great meet in the process. Continuing its tradition of improving its placement every season, Harker girls had four individual swims in the top eight and two top-eight relay swims. Jessica Khojasteh, grade 12, was fifth in the 200 IM, sixth in the 100 breaststroke and set a school record of 1:05.90; Katie Siegel, grade 11, was eighth in the 100-yard butterfly (57.04) and third in the 100-backstroke (57.40) and both those times are both school records; the 200-yard freestyle relay of Khojasteh, Siegel, Tiffany Wong, grade 11, and Amie Chien, grade 10, was sixth, setting a school record of 1:40.17; in the 400-yard freestyle relay Khojasteh, Siegel, Rachelle Koch, grade 11, and Manon Audebert, grade 9, placed seventh and set yet another school record with their time of 3:37.78. The squad was also recognized prior to the meet for their CCS scholastic championship.
Harker boys swimming placed 14th at CCS this weekend, also having a great meet. Having placed fourth last year at CCS, this year the boys had a strong rebuilding year. The 200-yard medley relay of Hassaan Ebrahim, grade 12 and Kevin Khojasteh, Jason Yu and Daryl Neubieser, all grade 11, started out the finals session with a 16th place finish. Khojasteh then placed fifth in the 200-yard IM with a new school record of 1:51.10. Neubieser then tied for sixth in the 50-yard freestyle, following with a third place finish in the 100-yard freestyle. Khojasteh finished off the meet for the boys in the 100-yard breaststroke which turned out to be the race of the meet: four swimmers swimming very fast with less than four-tenths of a second separating the four. Khojasteh placed fourth and set a new school record of 56.94.
Track and Field
In CCS track and field semifinals, Claudia Tischler, grade 9, ran a blazing fast 5:08 in the 1600m (1 mile). Please support her as she prepares for CCS finals this Friday as one of only two freshmen in the 12-girl field of runners. She competes in Gilroy this Friday night, May 27. Isabelle Connell, grade 10, sprinted the 200m (half lap) in 26.64 seconds, taking 16th place and Sonya Chalaka, grade 11, triple-jumped 32 feet and 6.5 inches, taking 23rd place.
Golf
Golfer Maverick McNealy, grade 10, shot an 82 at the CCS championship placing 44th out of 64 golfers who qualified for the high-caliber field. Please congratulate him on an outstanding season.
Softball
Softball’s historic season came to a close last week with a 4-0 loss to Notre Dame-Belmont in the first round of CCS. Please congratulate them on an outstanding season.
Tennis
Boys tennis also has been awarded the CCS scholastic championship! Tennis player Karthik Dhore, grade 12, is seeded #2 in the CCS Individual Tournament in Aptos May 24 and 26, so best of luck to him!
Girls swimming and boys tennis teams were named 2011 Spring Scholastic Champions by the Central Coast Section. The girls swimming team came in with an average GPA of 3.8330 and boys tennis members averaged out 3.8450 to take the titles. Harker had five teams in second place: golf, lacrosse, boys swimming, boys volleyball and boys track and field, all behind the leaders by less than 1/10 of a point. There were three more teams, baseball,softball and girls track and field, in the top five lists of additional contenders, giving Harker placement in 10 of the 13 sports. GO EAGLES!
The San Jose Stage Top Honor Awards Program has recognized Harker’s spring musical, “Pippin,” with nine nominations for excellence. Harker received the fourth most nominations out of the participating schools, including a coveted nomination for Best Show, one of only six shows thus honored. This latter nomination means that the cast of “Pippin” will perform at the Tony Award-like ceremony in June.
Harker’s nominations are: Leading Actor – John Ammatuna and Daniel Cho, both grade 12; Overall Production; Chorus; Director – Laura Lang-Ree; Musical Director – Catherine Snider; Choreography – Katie O’Bryon; Costume Design – Caela Fujii and Mallika Dhaliwal, grade 12; Lighting Design – Natti Pierce-Thomson.
Fifteen high schools participated in the program this year, being adjudicated anonymously by a group of theater professionals including performers, designers and educators. The judges filled out an extensive review form after seeing the productions, and the results were calculated and nominations were awarded in 17 performance and production categories.
The Stage has partnered with Broadway San Jose to send the winners in the Best Actor and Best Actress categories to the National Musical Theatre Awards (The Jimmy Awards) in New York City, where they will compete with other regional performers. The winners of The Jimmy Awards will be awarded scholarships to New York University’s Tisch School for the Arts upon acceptance to that program.
The 2011 Stage Top Honors Awards will be awarded on June 6 at the California Theater in San Jose at 7 p.m. For more information and tickets please go to http://www.thestage.org.
Softball has advanced to CCS finals for the first time — read all about it!
In the WBAL track & field championships, varsity girls took fourth place overall with Isabelle Connell, grade 10, placing second in the 200m (half lap), and third in the 400m (1 lap), scoring the most points for Harker. Isabelle has qualified for CCS trials in the 200m. Sonya Chalaka, grade 11, triple jumped her way into second place, and has also qualified for CCS trials. Claudia Tischler, grasde 9, placed third in both the 1600m (1 mile) and the 3200m (2 mile). Her time alone in the 1600m qualified her for CCS trials. On the boys side, Charles Levine, grade 11, placed third in the 400m, and Proteek Biswas, grade 11, placed third in the 3200m. Results.
Golfer Maverick McNealy, grade 10, qualified for the CCS championships next Tuesday with his score of 75 in the Regionals May 11. This marks the second year in a row McNealy made it this far. Top finishers next week then qualify for NorCals May 23 in Chico. Results.
Harker girls swimming placed second at the WBAL swimming championships. Among the top performances were senior Jessica Khojasteh’s victory in the 100 breaststroke and junior Katie Siegel’s victory in the 100 backstroke,and the Harker victory in the 400 free relay. Second place finishes were by Khojasteh in the 200 IM, Siegel in the 100 butterfly, the 200 medley relay of Siegel; Lucy Cheng, grade 11; Khojasteh; and Amie Chien, grade 10, and the 200 free relay of Chien; Rachelle Koch, grade 11; Tiffany Wong, grade 11; and Manon Audebert, grade 9. Third place finishes were Audebert in the 100 freestyle and 500 freestyle, and Koch in the 100 breaststroke. New CCS qualifying times were gained by Audebert in the 100 freestyle, Cheng in the 100 breaststroke, and Koch in the 100 breaststroke. New WBAL championship records were set by Siegel in the 100 backstroke (57.77), and the 400 free relay team of Siegel, Audebert, Koch, and Khojasteh (3:41.41). Those two swims, plus Siegel’s second place finish in the 100 butterfly (57.42) were Harker school records. Harker girls are in good position for next week’s CCS championships.
Harker boys swimming placed fourth at the WBAL swimming championships. Among the top performances were Daryl Neubieser, grade 11, winning both the 50 and 100 freestyle; and Kevin Khojasteh, grade 11, placing second in both the 200 IM and the 100 breaststroke. A new CCS qualifying time was gained by the 200 free relay of Khojasteh; Jason Yu, grade 11; Chris Ng, grade 12; and Neubieser. Harker will compete in the CCS championships at the end of May.
Last week, for the first time ever, varsity tennis advanced to the quarterfinals of the CCS team championships. At the quarters, the boys faced a familiar opponent, Bellarmine, who they have met in three of their last four CCS appearances. This time, the boys lost to a closely matched Bellarmine squad. Senior Karthik Dhore was the lone Eagle standout.By advancing to the quarters, Harker has now made it to the CCS team championships for its eighth straight appearance and solidified its stature as one of top tennis HS tennis programs in the area. Harker finished the season with a record of 14-5. WBAL MVP and Dhore, will represent Harker in the CCS individual rournament, May 24 and 26, at Imperial Courts in Aptos.
Baseball finished their season with three straight victories and a third place league finish at 5-5. They defeated Pinewood 12-6 and Crystal Springs 8-3. Against Crystal, Noah Levy, grade 11, went 2-for-3 with three RBI’s, and Ben Tien, grade 12, was 2-for-3 and two RBI’s. Kevin Cali, grade 10, pitched and earned the victory with 10 strikeouts. Congratulations boys on a solid season.
The boys volleyball season came to a close May 12 in the CCS quarterfinals at second-seeded St. Ignatius. The boys had a great season finishing 19-14 overall for a fourth place league finish in what some people consider the toughest league in CCS.