There is lots to report on the MS sports front following the end of the late winter sports season.
MS Girls Basketball
According to coach Tang Kitporka, the Gr. 8 girls varsity A team had lots of fun this season, playing their best to a 3-7 overall record. Priscilla Auyeung, Jacqueline Jordan and Shreya Vemuri were key players throughout the great season.
The Gr. 7 girls of the varsity B team, coached by Loreen Talagtag and Joe Mentillo, went undefeated with a record of 10-0 this season. They took first place in the WBAL league season and won the WBAL tournament, defeating Woodland School in the finals! Standout players included Regina Chen, Nithya Vemireddy and Mercedes Chien.
MS Boys Soccer
The Gr. 8 varsity A soccer team, coached by Manny Martinez, ended their season undefeated with a record of 9-0-1 this season. They took first place in the WBAL league and even beat a tough St. Joseph’s Sacred Heart team, who has not lost a match in years, 1-0. Their combined scoring total was 47 goals to 12 for their opponents. The team was led by Andy Perez, Michael Amick, Baris Demirlioglu and Kiran Arimilli.
The Gr. 7 varsity B boys, coached by Chris Fanara, had a respectable season at 4-4 overall. All of their games were close games and they did not lose any match by more than one goal. They finished the season with a convincing victory over non-league opponent San Jose Christian, 4-1. The team was led by Kevin Mohanram, Jeffrey Hanke and Kevin Moss.
Coach Cyrus Merrill reported, ”The sixth grade boys junior varsity A team scored more total goals this year than in both prior seasons!” Nikhil Kishore scored three goals in just one game. The team also received strong play from the defensive midfield play of Rishabh Jain and the vocal leadership of sweeper Allen Huang. The boys really began incorporating their one-touch passing and foot skills, focal points of Merrill’s training, into their play, even eliciting a compliment from a referee who commented on their improvement in play from the beginning up until the end of the season. Merrill summarized, “Although they ended up with a losing record, they did defeat a traditionally strong team from up the peninsula and they scored three goals against perennial soccer power Menlo. Although they lost the game they put a considerable scare into the opposition!”
MS Wrestling
Although wrestling is an early winter sport, the short season finished too late for last month’s issue. Coaches Karriem Stinson and James Arballo are excited about the progress of this year’s wrestlers. In two back-to-back weekends of impressive wrestling, the boys indicated the strong future of Harker wrestling. At the Mission Hills tournament Harker took fifth out of 16 teams with only 11 wrestlers. Baris Demirlioglu and Michael Chen, Gr. 8, and Koshu Takatsuji, Gr. 7, went undefeated at 5-0. At the New Brighton Classic, Harker had four second place finishers (Demirlioglu, Nikhil Baradwaj, Canaan Linder and Christian Lantzsch, all Gr. 8); Daniel Wang, both Gr. 8, took third place, with Corey Gonzales, Gr. 6 and Chen both placing fourth.
Three students have qualified for the United States Chemistry Olympiad in late April. Andrew Zhou, Gr. 11, scored 58 points out of 60 on a March 27 exam to earn a spot, while Kevin Xu, Gr. 12, scored 57. Because he moved beyond the national round in last year’s competition, Vikram Nathan, Gr. 12, will also compete for Harker, even though each school is typically allowed to enter only two students.
– Congratulations to Aarthi Ragupathy, application specialist for Harker, on the birth of her second daughter! Arshia was born March 11, weighing in at 6 lbs., 20 inches. All are doing well.
– Evan Barth, US math teacher, will be the US’s first dean of studies starting in the 2009-10 school year. Barth, who has been at Harker for nine years, will meet with all incoming US families to create and track a four-year academic plan. In addition, Barth will lead efforts on academic integrity education and conduct informational evenings for MS parents to acquaint them with the US curriculum. Barth has served on the Honor Council, is freshman class dean this year, and has served as both a head varsity girls soccer coach and an assistant varsity girls volleyball coach.
– Chris Daren, Winged Post advisor, received a Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold Key award at a special luncheon in late March at Columbia University. Gold Key recipients are recognized for excellence in teaching journalism and in advising student publications. Only eight Gold Keys were awarded this year.
– MS music teacher Susan Nace performed with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus on April 19, singing songs inspired by poetry from e.e. cummings, as well as Or ff’s famous “Carmina Burana.”
– In March, MS English teacher Linda Felice participated in reviewing tests for the ERB (Educational Records Bureau), which provides assessment tests for many schools.
Reviewers came from all over the country. “It was extremely cool,” said Felice. Participants were reminded to keep all materials secure and confidential and found the process includes writing questions, reviewing them, field tests, statistical reviews and operational tests. The tests Felice reviewed will be the first tests offered online.
A good test question is clearly worded, grade-level appropriate and able to be answered correctly by students who have obtained the specific skill being measured, Felice was told. In addition, the question should assess comprehension of the skill, not the item, assess a range of achievement, offer only one correct answer and contain only plausible distractors, among other requirements.
Test items must avoid stereotypes or reference to specific geographical, ethnic, socio-economic, religious or gender data, among other things. When the reviewing star ted in earnest, “we logged on, said hello, and set right to work,” said Felice. “At the end of both days, we were all totally exhausted. It was very, very intense.”
Felice was happy about two things: having the opportunity to look behind the scenes at the creation process and seeing many of my own suggestions actually incorporated into the tests.
The process was rewarding to Felice on a classroom level, too. “I was pleased to learn … that the skills I am currently teaching my students will enable them to per form well on the ERBs. I am happy to know that, without changing anything, I am already preparing my students for these standardized tests they will be taking in the future.”
One Harker alumnus has leveraged his middle school science experiment to create a delicious wine. Will Jarvis MS’97, while boarding at Harker, received special dispensation to conduct a wine making experiment for his science class. This spring, Jarvis Winery (a family business), will release a wine based on the experiment. Jarvis, now attending Stanford business school, wasn’t able to sample the wine until he came of age nearly 10 years later.
After aging, the experimental wine was bottled and stored at the winery. When he and his family did open the bottles, they were excited enough about the flavor to call in their resident wine expert, who pronounced the wine exceptional. “I wasn’t really sure what to expect,” said Jarvis when he stopped by to help celebrate the opening of the Ringold Research Laboratory in Nichols Hall in February. “It was mostly conceived as a science experiment, so it wasn’t until later, when we actually tasted the wine, that we actually started to get excited about the quality.” That led to Jarvis’ second attempt to make wine. “Because it was inspired by the science project we decided to name it the Will Jarvis Science Project,” he said. Since college, Jarvis has been involved in wine making. “I have cycled through different positions at the winery,” he noted. “I did a summer working in the fields, a summer in shipping, I’ve done accounting and led tours for a summer; so I made my rounds through the winery, but this is my only personal attempt at wine making since Harker.”
Jarvis recalled the fuss around his original batch, which was in a seven- or eight-gallon cask, compared to the usual 60- gallon barrel. “There was a lot of excitement surrounding the experiment, given it was a fairly unusual project in that I was a 13- or 14-year-old middle school student making wine in my dorm room. Things were pretty compact so there wasn’t anywhere for me to put the barrel except the foot of my bed. That’s what I remember the most: having to live around the barrel, sort of negotiating my living space. Surprisingly enough, as far as I know, no one dipped into the keg – there weren’t any unauthorized wine tastings.”
Now, the new half-barrel (30- gallon) vintage, approved by the winery’s expert, is ready for sale. “We happened upon the quality of the smaller barrel serendipitously, through the science experiment,” said Jarvis, “but it makes a lot of sense because during wine making there is a well known trade-off during aging between absorbing a lot of the desirable oak-y flavors form the barrel, and losing some of the natural fruity flavor of the wine, which is also desirable. That (trade-off) just seems to be a function of time.
“The idea with the smaller-sized barrel, which has a higher surface to volume ratio, is that you absorb the oak at an accelerated rate so you don’t need to age the wine as long in order to absorb the same amount of oak flavor. The end result is that you are ageing the wine for a shorter amount of time in the barrel before you bottle it (and) when you bottle it you are essentially capturing (the flavor at that moment). People have used smaller barrels for experimental purposes before, but we are almost certainly the first winery to try that on a production scale.” Read more about Will Jarvis and his Science Experiment in the June Alumni News!
The annual Harker Blood Drive at the Saratoga campus on Feb. 25 drew a record number of donations, bringing in 82 people and collecting 58 units of blood. The accomplishment is credited with potentially saving up to 174 lives. “This was particularly exciting since this year, new rules and regulations have been imposed that restrict a larger number of people from donating,” said Ananya Anand, Gr. 12, the blood drive coordinator for the Harker Red Cross Club.
Students, faculty and staff showed up to give blood at the drive, which was organized by the Red Cross Club in conjunction with Blood Centers of the Pacific, a nonprofit organization that supplies blood to Northern California hospitals, doctors and patients.
Craigh Hough, a representative from Blood Centers of the Pacific present at the blood drive, said the blood would be used for transfusions, dialyses and other tasks that require donated blood to be on-hand. Specific parts of the blood will also be used, “like when Eskimos take down a polar bear,” Hough said, “they use the whole thing.” Only red blood cells are extracted during donations, as white blood cells are uniquely adapted to each person’s immune system.
Hough estimated that the Harker drive averages about 50 units each year, roughly twice the average amount of other community blood drives. “The blood drive has truly been a way to bring the Harker community together for a wonder ful cause,” Anand said. “Bay Area hospitals are currently facing major shortages in blood, so Harker’s contributions really make a difference. Within 72 hours, all the blood donated goes to a local hospital and every donated unit can save up to three lives.”
The US robotics team traveled to San Diego from March 4-7 for a three-day regional competition. Harker made it to the quarter final round before being eliminated by the alliance that wound up winning the competition. US science teacher and robotics advisor Eric Nelson was pleased with how the team per formed, and said the competition provided some much-needed practice for the Sacramento regional competition in late March.
At the US assembly on Feb. 23, members of the Honor Council spoke to their fellow students about how they plan to help the Harker community combat academic dishonesty. Arjun Mody, Gr. 11, shared what he and other Council students learned during a trip to New Orleans, where they attended a conference on school honor councils and codes. Mody said Harker was one of “about 20” schools in attendance. “We soon realized that many schools are dealing with the same problems that we face here,” he said. “It was interesting to see the different perspectives that the faculty and students have on this issue and how these differences can be reconciled.”
Based on student feedback and lessons learned from the New Orleans conference, the Honor Council members came up with a number of changes they decided to implement.
One such change will involve more openness with the Harker community about honor code violations, including publically disclosing the types of transgressions to the community, but not student names.
Speaking to the assembly, Olivia Zhu, Gr. 10, said the Honor Council will try to be more transparent about its activities. “Basically, we’re trying to show more about how we work and why honor should be important in the community,” she said.
The Honor Council will also add another member from the junior class. “This means that that additional member will be more grounded when he or she is a senior,” Zhu said.
Zhu also announced an outreach to the rest of the Harker community on the issue of academic dishonesty. Honor Council members will meet with faculty during their weekly meetings to discuss their concerns and how they can be addressed. Additionally, members will discuss the topic with LS and MS students.
Anthony Silk, US math teacher and Honor Council faculty advisor, said at the assembly that openness to share news of honor code infractions would initially be “painful,” but ultimately beneficial. “The more we know,” he said, “the better we’ll do.”
Silk later added: “We, all of us, need to take this seriously if we are serious in our desire to be our best, not just academically, but as an honor-bound community as well.”
[Update] Harker will host Common Ground speaker Laura Kastner January 26. She will be speaking about how to manage emotion and maintain a close, loving relationship with your child going through teen years. Join the group in the Nichols Hall atrium for the psychologist’s presentation “Navigating the Emotions of Tweens and Teens,” at 7 p.m. Harker parents and staff can attend for free. Light refreshments will be served. Kastner will also be speaking at Woodside Priory and Crystal Springs Uplands.
Wed., Jan. 27, 7 p.m. Woodside Priory School – “Parenting Teens for College and Beyond”
Thurs., Jan. 28, 7 p.m. Crystal Springs Uplands School – “Navigating the Emotions of Teens and Tweens”
See below for complete Common Grounds calendar
Nov 11, 2009
Harker will host Common Ground speakers in November and January. Join us for light refreshments in the Nichols Hall atrium for Harvard professor John Ratey’s presentation, “The Amazing Science of Exercise and the Brain,” next Thursday, Nov. 19 at 7:30, and psychologist Laura Kastner’s presentation, “Navigating the Emotions of Tweens and Teens,” in January. Harker parents and staff can attend for free. Complete information is below. Common Ground is a coalition of Bay Area schools dedicated to strengthening families and communities by sharing ideas and resources through its extensive speaker series.
Tues., Nov. 17, 7 p.m. – Stronger, Faster, Smarter: The Amazing Science of Exercise and the Brain with John Ratey, M.D. Sacred Heart Schools
Thurs., Nov. 19, 9 a.m. (morning session) The Nueva School
Thurs., Nov. 19, 7 p.m. Harker Upper School, Nichols Hall
Tues., Jan. 26, 7 p.m. – The Tween/Teen Years: Two Important Topics with Dr. Laura Kastner. Dr. Kastner will discuss ways to handle the emotions of tweens and teens, and how to stay connected after your child goes to college. Harker Upper School, Nichols Hall
Wed., Jan. 27, 7 p.m. Woodside Priory School
Thurs., Jan. 28, 7 p.m. Crystal Springs Uplands School
Tues., March 16, 7 p.m. – Loving without Spoiling: When to be Unpopular with Your Kids with Nancy Samalin, M.S. The Nueva School
Wed., March 17, 7 p.m. Saint Andrew’s School
Thurs., March 18, 9 a.m. (morning session) Foley Center at St. Joseph’s School of the Sacred Heart
Tues., April 20, 7 p.m. – One night only: The Power of Mindful Parenting with Daniel Siegel, M.D. Woodside High School
Harker students and alumni had the unique opportunity to see one of their own compete in the summer Olympics in Beijing, as MS alumna Andrea Nott ’96 represented the U.S. in the synchronized swimming event. Nott, whose team finished fifth overall in Beijing, discovered her love for the sport at the age of nine, and has been named a U.S. Synchronized Swimming All-American for seven years — since 1999. She was selected as an alternate for the Athens games in 2004.
Surprisingly, Nott said she didn’t feel much pressure despite making her first Olympic appearance. “We did a lot of mental preparation, including detailed visualizations and simulations,” she said. “So, when we were waiting to go out to perform I actually felt surprisingly calm.” She also said that her main goal was to put on the best performance of her career. “I wanted to peak and amaze people at the Olympics,” said Nott. “I think our team did that.”
Nott is the daughter of Debra Nott, Harker’s director of nursing and, following a decompression period, Andrea resurfaced in October to join her mom, who went to Beijing with her, at the Harker Family Picnic. The swimmer noted one of the most remarkable experiences of the games was watching the opening ceremonies.
“A lot of Olympians had told me beforehand that it was their favorite part of the Olympics, but I couldn’t quite grasp how amazing it would be to see them light the torch until I saw it,” she recalled. But above all, it was the opportunity to participate in the games that made the biggest impression. “I had been looking forward to the Olympics for so long that I really didn’t want to realize after closing ceremonies that I had let it all go by too fast,” said Nott. “I knew beforehand that I would be retiring from synchronized swimming after the games, so when I watched the torch light in opening ceremonies, I knew it would be a once-in-a-lifetime occasion.”
For those aspiring to reach the stars, Nott says the key ingredient is determination. “Natural talent is a great gift, but it can only take you so far,” she says. “Hard work and tenacity are what will get you there in the end, and the reward will feel even greater.”