Harker’s summer programs kicked off during the first week of June, offering a vast array of academic and recreational programs to students in grades K-12.
This year’s Summer Institute began June 7 and offers for-credit courses to Harker upper school students. The institute offers three-week and six-week courses that are equivalent to those taken during the academic year, and include classes in math, science, art and English.
Kamya Arora, who starts as a freshmen at Quarry Lane School in the fall, enrolled in a ceramics class at Saratoga for the summer. “It’s really fun, because we get a lot of materials that we can use so we’re not really limited by what we don’t have,” she said. “I find it really exhilirating to have a lot of projects.”
Another ceramics student, Stevenson High School rising sophomore Nurihan Park, said he likes the class “very much” because he and other students are afforded “a lot of freedom” to create.
A driver’s education course wrapped up June 14, while the Forensics Institute begins in August and will provide students with the opportunity to improve their competitive debating skills in events such as the public forum debate, Lincoln-Douglas debate and policy debate. New to the Forensics Institute this year is the Forensics Experience, where a week is devoted to training for the student congressional debate before moving on to individual events.
Harker’s Summer Camp for K-Gr. 8 students has also returned, providing a well-rounded combination of academics and recreational activities. At the camp, which began June 21, students spend the mornings learning subjects such as math, language arts and science. In the afternoons there is a wide variety of fun activities to enjoy, including sports, music, arts and dancing. Campers will get to go on field trips to several California landmarks.
For kindergartners, the Kindercamp prepares students for the fall semester by teaching basic language and math skills. Students who stay for the afternoon play games, make crafts, hear stories and will also take field trips of their own.
Harker summer camp is offered in four-week and two-week sessions. The second four-week session runs July 19-Aug. 13, while the remaining two-week sessions run July 6-July 16 and July 19-July 30.
Finally, the English Language Institute (ELI), Harker’s intensive program for students who wish to improve their English speaking and writing skills, got under way in late June. Students are learning vocabulary, study skills, reading comprehension, grammar, writing and oral presentation. Students also get to practice their newfound skills by conversing with native English speakers. ELI has proven to be a valuable aid to international students hoping to gain admission to American boarding schools and English international schools. New to ELI this year is the Primary Program for beginning English speakers ages 6-8. The program is held at Bucknall and furnishes an environment designed specifically for the youngest participants in the program.
Summer athletic programs The Swim School, which began June 7 and runs until Aug. 6, is offering quality instruction to swimmers as young as 3 years old—watch for the whole story, soon!
Just in time for World Cup fever, Harker’s Soccer Clinics have returned to bring professional instruction to soccer lovers ages 5-16. Two options are being offered this year. The Training Clinic, for ages 10-16, and Just4Kicks for ages 5-12.
Tennis Camp, running through Aug. 6, features two programs, both headed by Craig Pasqua, Harker tennis coach and a certified professional with the United States Professional Tennis Association.
Coverage of this year’s summer programs will continue as the season progresses. Please visit the Summer @ Harker website for more information.
Journalism students are currently attending their annual training camp and retreat, this year in Hawaii. The group has managed to get some surf time in between posting stories, photos and tweets. They’ve posted a slide show and story on the Talon/Winged Post home page. Tweets go out as events and adventures unfold, so check the pages and see the fun!
Congratulations to rising seniors James Seifert and John Ammatuna who were recognized for their performances as Marius (Outstanding Supporting Actor) and Enjolras (Outstanding Featured Performer), respectively, in “Les Misérables” in San Jose Stage Company’s inaugural High School Top Honors recognition program for area high schools. The awards were presented in June at an awards ceremony held at the California Theater in San Jose.
For many years Harker’s musical theater department participated in an awards program for Bay Area high schools sponsored by American Musical Theatre of San Jose (AMTSJ), the company that nominated Harker for participation in the 2007 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. When AMTSJ went defunct, San Jose Stage Company took up the honors mantle and created the High School Top Honors program, sending adjudicators to 15 local high schools this year.
In related news, Harker has once again been invited to perform at the Fringe, and will be performing this year’s musical, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” at the 2011 Fringe Festival in Edinburgh.
As spring sports came to a close, we had several upper school teams and many athletes turn in impressive end-of-season showings.
Golf
Maverick McNealy, Gr. 9, shot a 73 for a top 10 finish at the CCS Golf Tournament! He was one shot short of qualifying for the NorCal Tournament but is first alternate in case one of the four qualifiers can’t participate. He did a great job and his is the best-ever finish for a Harker player.
For more details, see www.cifccs.org/playoffs/results/09-10/bgolfccs10.html
Swimming
At the league championships held on campus at the Singh Aquatic Center, several records were set, including a school and WBAL record time of 1:50.15 in the girls 200 medley relay. The winning team was made up of Katie Siegel, Gr. 10, Tina Ma, Gr. 12, Vivian Wong, Gr. 12, and Jessica Khojasteh, Gr. 11. WBAL records were also broken in the girls 200 IM by J. Khojasteh, in 2:06.04; the girls 100 back by Siegel in 58.34; the girls 100 breast by V. Wong, in 1:06.41; the boys 200 medley relay by Kevin Khojasteh, Gr. 10, Michael Clifford, Gr. 12, Daryl Neubieser, Gr. 10, and Cole Davis, Gr. 12, with a time of 1:40.13; and the boys breast by K. Khojasteh in :59.99. Additional school records were set by Neubieser in the boys 200 (1:46.90) and 500 free (4:50.35), and in the boys 200 IM by K. Khojasteh (1:56.70).
Event winners at the championships included J. Khojasteh (200 IM, 100 free); Siegel (100 back); V. Wong (100 breast); girls 200 medley relay (Siegel, Ma, V. Wong, J. Khojasteh); K. Khojasteh (100 breast); Davis (50 free); and the boys 200 medley relay (K. Khojasteh, Clifford, Neubieser, Davis).
Individual CCS qualifiers were V. Wong, Ma, J. Khojasteh, Siegel, Lucy Cheng, Gr. 10, Tiffany Wong, Gr. 10, Davis, Clifford, K. Khojasteh and Neubieser. In the relays, all of the above students qualified, as well as Jeanette Chin, Gr. 12, Rachelle Koch, Gr. 10, Amie Chien, Gr. 9, Stefan Schwartz, Gr. 12, Darren Syu, Gr. 12, Chris Ng, Gr. 11, and Hassaan Ebrahim, Gr. 11.
At the CCS finals, the boys swim team not only was named CCS Scholastic Team Champions, they alsoplaced fourth overall (behind Bellarmine, Valley Christian and Sacred Heart Prep). The girls swim team placed eighth. Both results were the best placing ever for Harker. Before four years ago Harker had never scored a single point at CCS!
The highlight among highlights in the meet for Harker was J. Khojasteh (also Harker’s female athlete of the year) winning the first ever CCS title in any sport of any kind for Harker. In the most exciting race of the day, the 200 individual medley, Khojasteh touch tied for second after the butterfly leg, .44 behind the leader. After the backstroke, her “weakest” stroke, the race was still very close with Khojasteh in third, just .79 behind. She had a phenomenal breaststroke leg moving back up to second, but was still .21 behind. With a three-way battle in the freestyle, Khojasteh managed to get to the finish first, winning in 2:03.11. The top three girls were within one second of each other the entire race.
Other Harker top eight finishes of the meet included the girls 200 medley relay of Siegel, Ma, V. Wong and J. Khojasteh, which finished sixth; the boys 200 medley relay of K. Khojasteh, Clifford, Neubieser and Davis finishing second; along with several individual winners. K. Khojasteh took second in the 100 breaststroke and fourth in the 200 IM; Davis placed second in both the 50 and 100 freestyle; Neubieser came in eighth in the 50 freestyle; the boys 400 free relay of Neubiser, Davis, Khojasteh and Schwartz finished eighth; and V. Wong placed sixth in the 100 breaststroke.
All-American times were achieved this year by the girls 200 medley relay team of Siegel, Ma, V. Wong and J. Khojasteh; J. Khojasteh in the 200 IM and 100 freestyle; Siegel in the 100 backstroke; Davis in the 50 and 100 freestyle; and K. Khojasteh in the 200 IM and 100 breaststroke.
Congratulations to Isabelle Connell, Gr. 9, Michael Chen, Gr. 9, Thomas Enzminger, Gr. 12, and Scott Underwood, Gr. 12, for representing Harker at the CCS Track & Field Prelims at Gilroy High. Connell placed 13th overall in the 800m run, and Chen was the only freshman in CCS to participate in the shot put.
Results: http://www.cifccs.org/playoffs/results/09-10/track%20semifinal%20track%20results.pdf Athletics Awards At the end of year sports banquet, awards were presented for the 2009-2010 sports year. The female athlete of the year was Jessica Khojasteh and the male athlete of the year was Cole Davis. The award for female scholar athlete of the year went to Christina Ma and the male scholar athlete of the year to Stefan Eckhardt. Senior coaches awards were presented to Kelly Chen, Shanthi Rajagopalan, Kelsey Hilbrich, Tiffany Kyi, Manasa Reddy, Vivian Wong, Michael Clifford, Lung Ying-Yu, Mark Roh, Eugene Huang, Aadithya Prakash, Greg Plauck, Ryan Cali and Patrick Smith. This talented group of athletes will be missed next year!
A Harker junior who had traveled to Copenhagen for a world conference on climate change was honored by UNICEF for her dedication to service.
UNICEF named Olivia Zhu, Gr. 11, one of their 128 volunteers to receive the 2010 President’s Volunteer Service Award. Zhu was awarded a gold level standing for dedicating more than 250 hours to working for climate change based on the agenda formed at the Children’s Climate Forum (CCF) in Copenhagen in December 2009.
In Copenhagen, Zhu was one of four students selected by UNICEF USA to attend CCF. She joined others from 40 nations in a weeklong forum to find solutions to global concerns and advance understanding of global issues. During her time there, Zhu visited a Danish school, attended workshops and forged friendships with fellow teenagers who were working toward a common goal.
UNICEF’s President’s Council on Service and Civic Participation established the President’s Volunteer Service Award in 2003. The program honors individuals, families and groups of all ages who have met or exceeded requirements for volunteer service.
[Update] Andrew Zhou, 2010 valedictorian and member of the United States Physics Team, arrived in College Park, Md., this morning with the other 19 members of the team to begin training camp. Five of these students will be selected to represent the U.S. at the International Physics Olympiad this summer in Zagreb, Croatia. The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) has posted a press release on their website detailing the team’s welcome ceremony.
May 3, 2010 Harker has another physics Olympian! Senior Andrew Zhou has qualified as a member of the 2010 U.S. Physics Olympics Team, only one of 20 nationwide. Seven Harker students were semifinalists; Zhou is the only one to be selected for the team and this is his second time around.
Zhou was a team member in 2009, but was not selected for the final five; Harker alumnus (then senior)Anand Natarajan’09was one of the five selected for the 2009 international squad and won a gold medal in 2009.
Zhou will first attend physics camp May 22-31, then find out if he will be one of five selected for the 41st International Physics Olympiad to be held from July 17-25, 2010, in Zagreb, Croatia, where more than 400 student scholars from 90 nations will test their knowledge in physics.
The U.S. Physics Olympiad Program was started in 1986 by American Association of Physics Teachers to promote and demonstrate academic excellence. Over the past ten years, every U.S. Physics Team member traveling to the International Physics Olympiad has returned with a medal.
Graduates, friends and family were once again greeted by gorgeous weather and surroundings at the Mountain Winery on May 22 for the upper school’s ninth annual commencement ceremony. The Harker Chamber Orchestra, directed by Chris Florio, officially began the ceremony by welcoming the graduates with “Pomp and Circumstance.” Following the processional, Susan Nace directed the 2010 Graduation Chorus in her arrangement of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
Following a brief welcome speech by Butch Keller, upper school head, salutatorian Adam Perelman addressed his classmates in a light-hearted speech; Andrew Zhou, who, as valedictorian, traditionally would have spoken, was not able to attend the ceremony because he was attending the U.S. Physics Olympiad team training in Maryland.
“I was so excited when I found out that I had the chance to speak today. And that’s not just because [college counselor] Mr. [Kevin] Lum Lung promised me twenty bucks if I mentioned his name in this speech,” Perelman joked. He went on to list the many accomplishments of the Class of 2010, which included but were not limited to winning consecutive spirit championships and running a marathon to honor John Near, the much-loved 30-year veteran history teacher who passed away last October. “What I’m trying to say is that, we’re kind of a big deal, class of 2010,” Perelman quipped.
The speech got another big laugh when Perelman reflected on how much the class had changed since freshman year. “A lot of you probably remember that back then, I looked a lot more like this!” he exclaimed, donning an afro wig.
Before closing, Perelman thanked the Harker teachers and families who helped him and his classmates become the people they are. He then thanked his fellow graduates “for making high school so unforgettable.”
After much applause, Catherine Snider conducted the 2010 Graduation Chorus, singing the Taylor Hicks hit “Do I Make You Proud,” before the day’s keynote speaker, San Jose Mercury News columnist Scott Herhold, took the podium. In his speech, Herhold made special note of the accomplishments that the graduating seniors had achieved as part of a collaborative effort.
In another yearly tradition, graduate and outgoing National Honor Society president Anjali Menon then passed the Lamp of Knowledge to upcoming senior and new NHS president Ashtyn Ka.
Chris Nikoloff, head of school, then went to the stage to give his customary parting words to the senior class before individually awarding the diplomas to the class of 2010, along with Keller and Naomi Schatz, class dean and psychology teacher. Nikoloff and Jennifer Gargano, assistant head of school for academic affairs, then said their closing words before the Harker Chamber Orchestra performed the recessional piece, “March Heroique” by Saint-Saens, to bring the ceremonies to an end.
The graduation procedures officially began on May 20 with the Baccalaureate ceremony, during which the graduating class reflected on and celebrated the accomplishments of the senior class and wish them well in their future. It was also a time for the torch to be passed to the juniors, and to welcome them into their new roles as leaders.
During the ceremony the soon-to-be graduates and rising seniors were treated to a pair of special performances. Cantilena, directed by Susan Nace, sang “The Circles of Our Lives” by David Brunner, and following a brief introductory address by Jennifer Gargano, the Harker String Orchestra, directed by Chris Florio, performed “La primavera” (“Spring”) from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons concertos.
The Class of 2010’s dean (and upper school psychology teacher) Naomi Schatz gave a rousing speech to the departing graduates. She mentioned some of the ideas for the speech that were running through her head as recently as that morning, including a musical number with science teacher Kate Schafer. “I was going to ‘Hey Soul Sister’ while she accompanied me with an interpretive clog dance,” she joked. Proclaiming that she felt fortunate to have a job that she loves, Schatz advised the students to live their lives passionately. “Find out what it is that makes your heart sing and your soul soar, and by all means make sure to keep that as a major part of your life,” she said.
Schatz concluded her time at the podium by leading sing-a-longs to the songs “Build Me Up Buttercup” and “Forever Young.”
Valedictorian Andrew Zhou then got up to speak to his fellow graduates and to the juniors that would soon be carrying the torch. Zhou, who had been selected as a finalist to be a member of the United States Physics Olympiad Team, would unfortunately not be able to attend the graduation ceremony, as he was in Maryland for training camp during the exercises. Salutatorian Adam Perelman spoke in his stead.
In his speech, Zhou reflected on both the “halcyon” and “tempestuous” times that he and his classmates have had since their freshman years. “And now we stand,” he said. “Fledglings no more, prepared to leave this eagle’s nest to pass the torch on to our successors.”
“Disregard proportion, do not walk in a straight line, transcend that path and explore the diverging roots life,” he said to his fellow college-bound graduates. “Take that underwater basket-weaving class you stumble upon! Join that cow-tipping club that catches your eye!”
He advised the juniors to “think of the path you tread now, the infinite possible detours that lie in your future. Do not define yourself based on who you were, what you did. With such perspective, senior year will be the crowning pinnacle of your high school life, preparing you well for the vicissitudes of college and beyond.”
Two instrumental groups from the lower school, one of which included members from Gr. 6, won silver awards at the Heritage Music Festival. The event took place this past weekend at Foothill Community College.
Heritage festivals are held around the country for various skill levels. At this one, Harker entered non-high school-aged groups for the first time. Louis Hoffman, lower school music director, was pleased with the results. “They did so well,” he said.
Awards were given by three judges based on a standard rather than in competition with other groups, meaning each group had to meet certain expectations, Hoffman explained. Of the approximately 20 groups at the competition, Harker was the only one with elementary school students. The rest featured high schoolers, as well as one junior high group, which made the awards that much more difficult to earn.
About 25 students from Gr. 2-6 were in the jazz ensemble and about 27 from Gr. 2-5 were in the orchestra. Following their performances, a judge spoke to the groups, giving critiques and compliments in a sort of mini clinic, Hoffman said. Each student received a pin to commemorate the results and the school received two plaques to display on campus.
Hoffmann gave credit to Laura Lang-Ree, chair of the performing arts department, and to Chris Florio, upper school orchestra director, for their efforts in building the lower and middle school programs.
“The students’ behavior was so good,” said Hoffman. “They acted wonderfully. I was so proud of them.”
In April, the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), a nonprofit organization that honors the scholastic achievements of high school students, began releasing the names of winners in the 55th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. Harker’s Sarah Teplitsky was on that list.
The second round of winners has just been released. These are scholarships of $2,500 apiece, sponsored by National Merit’s own funds or, in a few cases, underwritten by corporations.
Harker has 21 seniors named in this round, the most in California. The schools with the next highest totals are Torrey Pines (San Diego) with 13 and Gunn (Palo Alto) with nine.
Congratulations to these seniors: Brandon Araki, Virginia Chen, Victor Chen, Jeanette Chin, Nathaniel Edwards, James Feng, Alex Fotland, Alex Han, Kelsey Hilbrich (underwritten by Tomkins Corporation), Sonya Huang, Vishesh Jain, Carissa Jansen (underwritten by UPS Foundation), Rachel Luo, Christina Ma, Arjun Mody, Adam Perelman, Mark Roh, Rashmi Sharma, Haran Sivakumar, Andrew Zhou and Kevin Zhang.