Nirban Singh Bhatia, grade 9, took eighth place in the fall 2014 InvestWrite contest, sponsored by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA). The “innovative national writing competition,” produced by The Stock Market Game program, requires critical thinking that reinforces classroom concepts. Thousands of essays are submitted each year from students nationwide. Go Nirban!
Tags: Featured StoryDuring the course of this year, Harker’s upper school journalism students have won a number of prestigious awards. Here is a look back at honors the students have received from the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA), the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) and the Journalism Education Association (JEA).
Of special note were first-place wins from the CSPA by seniors Apoorva Rangan, Jessica (“Fred”) Chang and Priscilla Pan. Working together, Chang and Pan took first place in the video feature package for a piece about making mint chocolate soufflé, titled “In a Nutshell: Mint Chocolate Souffle.”
Ellen Austin, who directs Harker’s upper school journalism program, noted that the video was very innovative, and on the cusp of big trends both culturally and journalistically. “The fact that this won over other more ‘traditional’ videos is a mark of the innovative approach they are taking,” she said.
The CSPA is an international student press association whose goal is to unite student journalists and faculty advisors at schools and colleges through educational conferences, idea exchanges, textbooks, critiques and award programs. CSPA is affiliated with Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
The NSPA is a nonprofit organization for high school and secondary school publications in the United States. The association is membership-based and annually hosts high school journalism conventions across the country. The NSPA is considered to be one of the most prestigious award bodies in high school journalism, comparable to the Pulitzer Prize.
The National High School Journalism Convention is a semiannual gathering of high school journalists and advisors sponsored by the JEA and the NSPA. The associations partner to prepare hundreds of practical and professional learning sessions.
Below are the 2014-15 awards received by Harker’s journalism students:
Publication Awards
CSPA Silver Crown, April 2015: Presented for the year’s work for Winged Post 2013-14: Nikil Dilip, then grade 12, and Meena Chetty, then grade 12 (editor-in-chiefs)
Winged Post, Third Place, Broadsheet 17+ pages, Best of Show, Denver, Spring JEA/NSPA National Journalism Conference
Aquila, Fourth Place, Publication Website Small School, Best of Show, Denver, Spring JEA/NSPA, National Journalism Conference
Winged Post, Seventh Place, Broadsheet 17+ pages, Best of Show, Washington D.C., Fall National Journalism Conference, November 2014
Individual Awards
NSPA Story of The Year (presented November 2014): Mariam Sulakian, grade 12, Honorable Mention
Sports Multimedia, Story of the Year competition
Shay Lari-Hosain, grade 11, Honorable Mention, Infographics, Design of the Year competition
Columbia Scholastic Press Association Newspaper Awards, print work (September 2014)
First Place, Photo Layout; Portfolio of Work: Apoorva Rangan, grade 12
Second Place, Feature Page Design Portfolio of Work: Apoorva Rangan
Columbia Scholastic Press Association Digital Awards, online work, (February 2015)
First Place, Video Feature Package: Jessica Chang, grade 12, and Priscilla Pan, grade 12, “In a Nutshell: Mint Chocolate Souffle,” Harker Aquila
Third Place: Video Feature Package: Jessica Chang and Priscilla Pan, “In a Nutshell: Bruschetta,” Harker Aquila
Second Place, Personal Opinion, Off-Campus Issues: Shay Lari-Hosain,“The Middle East: A Muslim Perspective,” Harker Aquila
Third Place, Humor: Kathryn Duan, grade 10, and Alex Jang, grade 12, “A Guide to Commuting Across Campus,” Harker Aquila
Tags: Featured Story, Featured Story Photo, topacademics, upper schoolAlthough all middle school Latin students took the National Latin Exam and National Mythology Exam, there were some who wanted a bigger challenge and participated in four optional contests. There will be a lot of jingling as they walk away from Junior Classical League Awards on May 21!
National Classical Etymology Exam (Greek and Latin roots of English words), Novice level (grades 8 and below)
Bronze medals: Cynthia Chen, Avi Gulati, Eileen Li, all grade 7
Silver medals: Arushee Bhoja, Taylor Lam, both grade 8
Gold medals: Arohee Bhoja, George Wehner, both grade 6; Jack Hansen, Jin Tuan, Angele Yang, all grade 7; Nikhil Dharmaraj, Ayush Pancholy, Akshay Ravoor, Ashwin Reddy, Alexander Young, all grade 8
National Roman Civilization Exam (history and culture), Novice level (grades 8 and below)
Bronze medals: Akshay Ravoor, Ashwin Reddy, Alexander Young, all grade 8
National Latin Vocabulary Exam
Level 1/2, all grade 6:
Bronze: Saloni Shah
Silver: Akshay Manglik
Gold: Arohee Bhoja, Annamma Vazhaeparambil
Level 1, all grade 7, except where noted:
Silver: Avi Gulati, Jack Hansen, Allison Jia
Gold: Eileen Li, Kalyan Narayanan, Jin Tuan, George Wehner, grade 6
Level 2, all grade 8:
Silver: Akshay Ravoor, Ayush Pancholy
Gold: Nikhil Dharmaraj
Medusa Mythology Exam (This year’s theme was “Monstra in Corporibus,” mythological monsters sorted by body type)
Corona Olivae: George Wehner, grade 6; Jasmine Wiese, Jack Hansen, both grade 7; Allison Cartee, grade 8
Corona Laurea: Akshay Manglik, Annnamma Vazhaeparambil, both grade 6; Katelyn Chen, grade 7; Akshay Ravoor, Timothy Chang, Sara Min, all grade 8
Bronze: Allison Jia, Kyle Li, both grade 7; Alexander Young, grade 8
Tags: Featured Story, topacademicsIn late February, middle school Latin students took The National Mythology Exam, answering questions on the Olympians, Theseus (the theme) and classical literature (such as “The Odyssey” and “The Iliad”). The following students are certified myth mavens:
Bronze medals:
Grade 6: Jason Lin, Akshay Manglik, Arohee Bhoja, Saloni Shah, Linus Zheng, Maria Vazhaeparambil
Grade 7: Sriya Prathuri, Cynthia Chen, Vibha Arramreddy, Kyle Li, Kashov Sharma, Anvi Banga, Jedd Hui, Montek Kalsi
Grade 8: Kaushik Shivakumar, Mathew Mammen, Clarissa Wang, Anna Wang, Jacob Kim
Silver medals:
Grade 6: Angela Cai
Grade 7: Matthew Jin, Alyssa Huang, Jack Hansen, Avi Gulati, Jasmine Wiese, Vedanth Sundaram, Kalyan Narayanan, Eileen Li, Ashley Duraiswamy, Catherine Zhao, Jai Bahri, Andrew Cheplyansky, Allison Jia
Grade 8: Arthur Oung, Ashwin Reddy, Tiffany Wong, Bobby Bloomquist, Nicole Selvaggio, Allison Cartee, Akshay Ravoor
Gold medals (The Athena Gold Award of Excellence; 100 percent on the exam):
Grade 6: Betsy Tian, Anna Vazhaeparambil
Grade 7: Lauren Fu, Katelyn Chen
Grade 8: Sara Min, Ally Wang, Alexander Young
Tags: Featured StoryJonathan Ma, grade 11, was selected to attend the U.S. Physics Team Training Camp this year. He was one of only 20 students chosen nationwide. Ma will travel to the University of Maryland to attend the camp from May 17-28, where the team members will improve laboratory and problem-solving skills, hear lectures by prominent physicists and work with peers.
“The competition for a position on the U.S. Physics Team is intense and each student who participated in the 2015 selection process is deserving of recognition. They are the future of America’s success in physics related fields. AAPT is honored to recognize the exceptional scholars who qualified for the team and to support their further participation in the International Physics Olympiad,” said Dr. Beth A. Cunningham, Executive Officer of the American Association of Physics Teachers.
The training camp is a crash course in the first two years of university physics. Students learn at a very fast pace. They have an opportunity to hear about cutting edge research from some of the community’s leading physicists. At the end of the training camp, five team members will be chosen to represent the U.S. in Mumbai, India, at the 46th International Physics Olympiad, July 5-12.
Tags: Featured Stories, Featured Story, Science, topscienceGolf
The boys remain in first place in league thanks to a big victory over Pinewood last week. Senior Shrish Dwivedi led all golfers with a 34 while sophomore Sandip Nirmel shot a 36. They face King’s Academy on Tuesday and league rival Sacred Heart on Friday
Track and Field
Sophomore Winnie Li and freshmen Aria Coalson, Gloria Guo and Grace Koonmen won the sprint medley and set a Harker record at the DeAnza Invitational! Sophomore Niki Iyer followed that up by setting a new Harker record in the 3200-meter at the prestigious Arcadia Invitational. The team has a league meet Tuesday and a big invitational next Saturday in San Mateo.
Softball
Softball had a dramatic 6-5 win over Saint Francis Watsonville thanks to a tremendous game-saving catch in the top of the seventh by junior Tong Wu. The Eagles got big hits from seniors Briana Liang and Sarah Bean, sophomore Vivian Isenberg and freshman Kristin LeBlanc. They host Mercy on Tuesday.
Lacrosse
The girls walloped Aragon 14-6 last Wednesday, with goals by seniors Hannah Bollar, Allison Kiang, Priscilla Pan and Leeza Kuo, junior Natasha Mayor and sophomore Taylor Iantosca. Sophomore goalie Meilan Steimie had nine saves in the win. The Eagles play Sequoia on Wednesday.
Tennis
Boys tennis now has a 12-2 overall record after a 6-1 victory over Pinewood last week. The team travels to Priory on Tuesday and hosts Crystal Springs on Thursday.
Volleyball
The boys beat Monterey and Live Oak at the Bellarmine Tournament over the weekend to go 2-3 overall in the competition. Their record now stands at 6-12 overall. They’ll look to improve that mark when they hit the road to play in Mountain View and Los Gatos this week.
Baseball
The Eagles dropped to 6-7 overall after a 9-4 loss at Fremont last week, but junior Miles DeWitt was featured in the Mercury News Highlight Reel for his huge two home run performance against Trinity Christian. Learn more here:
Swimming
Come support our swimmers this Friday at the Singh Aquatic Center as they compete in their second home meet of the season!
Moving On
Last but never least, Shreya Dixit, grade 12, has been noted by the Yale women’s volleyball coach as an incoming athlete for the class of 2019. Read her write up, here!
Last week, Harker’s Team Hurrikeynes – made up of seniors Aaron Huang, Rohith Kuditipudi (not pictured), Ashwath Thirumalai, Steven Wang and Leo Yu and advised by economics teachers Sam Lepler and Damon Halback – qualified for the national semifinal round of the National Economics Challenge. The April 7 competition, which took place at the San Francisco Federal Reserve, consisted of a testing round in which five participating teams (three of which were from Harker) closely matched. Team Hurrikenes’ runaway success in the quiz bowl round was the deciding factor in their victory. Next week’s semifinal exam will determine if Team Hurrikeynes travels to New York City for the televised national finals. Wish them luck!
Tags: Featured StoryHarker’s golf and track and field teams performed spectacularly over spring break, while the baseball squad upped its record to .500. Let’s get to the results!
Golf
The boys golf team competed at the Champions Tournament in Palm Springs over spring break, finishing 11th out of 47 teams from throughout the United States! Senior Shrish Dwivedi led the way, placing sixth out of 256 individuals. The boys are currently in first place in league, and will aim to keep it that way when they faced Pinewood on Thursday.
Track and Field
The Eagles posted 25 personal bests in the Firebird Relays at Fremont High School over spring break! The girls distance medley relay team not only won its event, but also set a new meet and school record. Junior Alex Dellar, sophomores Winnie Li and Nikki Iyer, and freshman Grace Koonmen won in style as Iyer made up a 140-meter gap on her final leg, posting a personal record of 5:01 for her mile run. Iyer later set a school record in the 800m with 2:20.64.
Koonmen also ran the No. 3 all-time mark for a Harker freshman in the 100m and 200m races. Freshman Anthony Contreras, meanwhile, improved on his No. 2 all-time Harker 200m race with a 24.01. Sophomore Davis Howard posted the No. 5 all-time mark for a Harker sophomore in the shot put and discus, while sophomore Davis Dunaway became the No. 2 all-time Harker sophomore in the 65m hurdles.
Junior Arthur Ye also had a strong day with a personal record of 33’ 6” in the shot put, ranking him among Harker’s top 10 all-time shot put efforts at No. 7. Freshman Ananya Krishnan’s personal record of 17’ 9” – the best-ever shot put effort by a female Harker freshman – moved her into eighth position on the top 10 list.
Baseball
The Eagles held on for a tight 14-13 victory over Trinity Christian last week to bump their record up to .500 at 6-6 overall. Freshmen Nate Kelly and Dominic Cea led the way with three hits apiece, including Kelly’s four RBIs.
Tags: Featured Story, SportsThe first round of the National Economics Challenge is over and Harker had a record 52 students go way beyond the required AP curriculum to participate. The top five teams in Northern California (defined as the region from San Luis Obispo to the Oregon border) qualified to compete in a written and quiz bowl style competition at the San Francisco Federal Reserve Building on April 7. Three of those five teams are from Harker. The 12 Harker students advancing on are Adele Li, Anika Mohindra, Grace Guan and Abhinav Ketineni, all grade 11; Akshay Battu, Sohil Patel, Sorjo Banerjee, Suraj Jagadeesh, all grade 11; and Rohith Kuditipudi, Aaron Huang, Leo Yu and Steven Wang, all grade 12.
“I am extremely excited to see how we do at the next round because the winner goes on to the National Semifinals for a chance to win an all-expense paid trip to NYC to compete in the televised finals!” said economics teacher Sam Lepler.
Tags: Featured Story, topacademicsThe Business Insider named Harker the second “smartest” private school in the country on its list of the top 50. According to the article, Niche.com “determined the bulk of the rankings by weighing each school’s composite SAT/ACT score, the average score of the colleges attended by graduates, and the percentage of graduates who go on to attend a four-year college.” We confirmed with Niche that the composite SAT/ACT scores are based on scores reported by students and are not verified. Read more about Niche’s methodology and the full Business Insider story. Go academic Eagles!
Tags: Featured Story